EBRKEISV 

UNI 
C/ 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  SACRIFICE. 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  SACRIFICE 


AKD  THE  LIFE  OF  SACRIFICE 


IN    THE    EELIGIOTJS    STATE. 


From  the  Original  of 
Eev.   S.   M.   GIKAUD, 

Mitaionary  Priett  of  Our  Lady  of  La  SaUtU, 


revised'  by 
Rev.  HERBERT  THURSTON,  S.J. 


New  York,  Cincinnati,  Chicago 

BENZIGER    BROTHERS 

PRINTERS   TO   THE  I  PUBLISHERS  OF 

HOLV   APOSTOLIC   SEE         1         BENZIGER's  UAGAZIN5 


RBMT  LAFORT, 

Ctn»or  Librorwn. 


fmptfmttttt. 

t  JOHN  M.  FARLET, 

ArchbUhop  of  New  York, 

LOAN  STACK 


Nbw  Yobx,  NoT«mber  25, 1004. 


OOTTBiear,  190S,  bt  BxraiOEB  Bbothkss. 


653 


"  Courage,  dearest  baugtttr*  lou  arf  notD  Itdt  in  j^ptrit  on  tbf 
altar,  tber?  to  he  offered  in  j^acrifice  anti  flain;  nap,  more,  to  be 
con^umeti  a^  a  bolocau^t  in  tte  ^igbt  of  tf)t  litaino  <5oti." 

— iS(.  Franeit  of  SaUa,  Letter  to  a  Nun  on  the  Oecaeion  of  her  Profeesion. 


105 


PREFACE. 


After  the  Priesthood,  the  life  of  the  monk  or  nun  Is 
the  brightest  ornament  of  the  Chm-ch  of  Jesus  Christ. 
We  may  say  of  it  what  one  of  the  Fathers  in  the  first  ages 
of  Christianity  said  of  virginity:  ^*It  is  the  fairest,  moslj 
glorious  fruit  of  divine  grace;  a  work  perfect  and  unblem- 
ished, worthy  to  be  extolled  and  magnified,  a  mirror  in 
which  the  hohness  of  God  is  reflected  here  below,  the  most 
glorious  gift  of  Christ  to  His  flock,  the  joy  of  the  Church."  * 

No  wonder,  then,  that  so  lovely  and  attractive  a  theme 
should  have  inspired  the  pen  of  a  great  number  of  writers. 
How  dehghtful  it  is  to  work  for  the  souls  whom  Our  Lord 
loves  with  a  special  predilection!  How  exalted  a  task  to 
promote  the  sanctification  of  those  favored  ones  who, 
provided  they  correspond  to  the  wondrous  grace  vouch- 
safed to  them,  afford  abundant  consolation  to  the  heart  of 
their  divine  Spouse,  and  abundant  edification  to  holy 
Church,  their  Mother,  whose  most  illustrious  children 
they  are! 

It  is  to  Father  Rodriguez,  S.J.,  that  we  owe  the  first 
comprehensive  treatise  ^  on  the  rehgious  life,  the  first  and 

*  St.  Cyprian,  de  Habitu  Virginum. 

'  We  have  said:  The  first  comprehensive  treatise,  because  this  ex- 
cellent work,  as  such,  stands  first  even  as  regards  the  time  of  pub- 

7 


8  PREFACE. 

foremost  in  every  respect.  His  admirable  work  is  and 
always  will  be  the  one  most  highly  esteemed  by  religious 
communities. 

After  him  comes  Father  Saint-Jure,  also  a  member  of 
the  illustrious  Society  of  Jesus.  His  work^  is,  like  that  of 
Father  Rodriguez,  to  be  found  in  every  religious  house, 
and  souls  who  are  consecrated  to  God  derive  great  profit 
from  his  doctrine  and  teaching. 

In  our  own  day  a  great  many  authors,  following  in 
their  steps,  have  endeavored  by  means  of  writings  of 
various  descriptions  (treatises,  sermons,  letters,  confer- 
ences, catechisms,  meditations)  to  set  before  the  denizens 
of  the  cloister  the  duties  of  their  holy  state  in  their  en- 
tirety. Of  these  the  treatise  on  the  religious  state,  by 
Fr.  Gautrelet,  also  a  Jesuit,  seems  to  us  the  best.  All, 
however,  have  done,  and  still  continue  to  do,  a  vast 
amount  of  good.  The  numerous  Congregations  which 
have  multiplied  to  such  an  astonishing  extent  within  the 
last  fifty  years  needed  the  various  instructions  contained 
in  these  writings,  and  have  doubtless  profited  by  them 
to  the  edification  of  the  Church. 

We,  in  our  turn,  have  attempted  to  be  of  service  to 
them  in  the  work  of  their  sanctification,  a  work  of  such 
vital  importance.  The  treatise  we  now  lay  before  the 
reader  treats  of  the  religious  state  from  the  special  point 
of  view  of  the  victim's  self-surrender. 

We  employ  the  word  victim  here,  although  on  the  title- 

lication;  if,  however,  it  were  a  question  of  writings  treating  of  the 
religious  life  and  containing  most  valuable  counsels  for  those  who 
embrace  that  holy  state,  it  would  be  necessary  to  go  back  to  the 
early  ages  of  the  Church,  and  mention,  in  addition  to  the  works  of 
the  Fathers  (Tertullian,  St.  Cyprian,  St.  Ambrose,  and  others)  on 
virginity,  a  great  number  of  homilies,  letters,  opuscules,  etc.,  by 
various  eminent  saints,  on  the  monastic  life, 

*  L'homme  religieux,  par  le  R.  P.  Saint-Jure,  S.J. 


PREFACE.  9 

page  of  this  work  we  have  preferred  to  speak  of  the  life 
of  sacrifice.  The  sense  is  the  same  in  both,  but  we  thought 
it  best  to  make  use  of  the  latter  term  lest  our  announce- 
ment might  seem  to  suggest  some  singularity  of  doctrine 
and  practice.  It  will,  however,  be  seen  that  the  stand- 
point we  have  chosen  is  anything  but  a  fanciful  or  un- 
authorized one.  The  view  we  take  of  the  religious  life  is, 
in  fact,  by  no  means  new;  every  author  who  has  selected 
this  beautiful  subject  as  his  theme  points  it  out,  but 
without  enlarging  upon  it;  whereas  what  we  propose  to 
consider  in  the  religious  state  is  preeminently  the  life  of 
the  monk  or  nun  as  a  victim. 

We  can  not  but  think  that  this  view  of  the  religious 
life  is  not  only  a  true  one,  but  also  one  which  imparts  to 
it  a  character  eminently  weighty,  elevated,  profound,  and 
calculated  to  inspire  souls  consecrated  to  God  by  solemn 
vows  with  more  generous  aspirations,  hoUer  dispositions. 

We  submit  our  way  of  looking  at  this  subject  with  the 
utmost  respect  to  the  judgment  of  men  of  authority  and 
experience,  who  may  find  time  to  read  this  book. 

The  essential  point  is  that  every  soul  whom  the  divine 
Spouse  has  deigned  to  call  to  the  signal  honor  of  this  celes- 
tial union  with  Himself  should  endeavor,  by  the  use  of 
every  attainable  means,  to  correspond  to  His  merciful 
designs.  The  times  in  which  we  live  are  evil,  and  we 
may  well  say  with  St.  Paul:  "Redeeming  the  time  because 
the  days  are  evil"  (Eph.  v.  16).  The  spirit  of  seduction 
is  so  powerful!  Who  can  say  whether  there  are  not 
within  the  vast  fold  of  the  Church  of  God  some  Commu- 
nities which,  under  pretexts  more  or  less  plausible,  have 
allowed  the  spirit  of  the  world  to  find  its  way  into  their 
midst,  and  effect  the  deterioration  of  that  grand  and  holy 
life  of  religion  which  constituted  the  strength  and  the 
glory  of  their  Institute  at  the  outset?  And  who  can  say 
whether  days  of  trial,  of  tribulation,  of  persecution,  are 


10  PREFACE. 

not  in  store  for  us?  *  If  so,  what  will  then  become  of  the 
tepid  Religious,  of  the  Community  in  which  laxity  pre- 
vails? Let  us  then  lose  no  time,  but  set  to  work  without 
delay,  and  by  renewing  our  zeal,  no  longer  render  the 
sublime,  the  inestimable  grace  of  our  vocation  void  and 
illusory. 

At  any  rate,  even  if  our  fervor  has  already  borne  blessed 
fruit  in  the  bosom  of  holy  Church,  ought  we  not,  seeing 
how  evil  are  the  times  in  which  we  live,  to  animate  our- 
selves to  greater  generosity  in  our  intentions,  greater  per- 
fection in  our  actions?  Look  at  the  state  of  society;  see 
the  multitude  of  those  whose  aim  is  the  destruction  of 
peace  and  social  order;  above  all,  note  the  trials,  the 
afflictions  of  the  Church.  How  much  iniquity  there  is  in 
the  world,  how  much  crime  which  can  not  fail  to  provoke 
the  just  wrath  of  the  Most  High!  Now  Religious  are,  in 
virtue  of  their  vocation  and  their  state,  mediators  between 
a  guilty  world  and  the  God  whose  sovereign  majesty  they 
have  offended.  But  what  interior  sanctity  is  requisite  in 
order  to  exercise  this  ministry  of  reconciliation!  Shall 
we  be  qualified  to  exercise  it  efficaciously  if  we  present 
ourselves  before  God  in  the  state  of  grace  of  the  ordinary 
Christian,  which  undoubtedly  renders  us  acceptable  in 
His  sight,  but  which  is  obviously  insufficient  to  save 
unhappy  sinners  from  the  chastisements  of  His  just  and 
terrible  vengeance? 

At  every  period  the  souls  consecrated  to  Him  by  the 
vows  of  religion  have  been  propitiatory  victims  in  union 
with  Jesus  Christ,  our  one  mediator  with  the  Father,  and 
with  Mary,  the  Patroness  of  our  work  of  expiation,  yet  in 
the  present  day  when  there  is  so  much  on  every  side  to 
make  us  sad,  when  we  see  impiety  and  sacrilege  trium- 

*  Alas!  when  we  penned  these  lines  (in  1873)  we  little  thought 
that  our  fears  would  be  justified  by  the  fatal  decrees  of  the  [French] 
Government.     And, who  knows  what  the  future  may  have  in  store? 


PREFACE.  11 

phantly  enthroned  in  the  Eternal  City,  and  the  Vicar  of  Jesus 
Christ  despoiled  of  his  rights,  a  prisoner  among  his  own 
children,  ought  not  those  whose  animating  principle  is 
the  victim^s  spirit  of  self-surrender,  to  be  stimulated  by  it 
to  the  accomplishment  of  works  of  still  greater  perfection, 
to  deeds,  if  possible,  of  heroic  virtue?  This,  in  fact,  is  what 
is  expected  of  them  by  sinners,  by  the  just,  by  the  Church, 
by  the  clergy,  above  all  by  God  Himself. 

Would  to  God  that  the  book  now  offered  to  them  might 
prove  useful  to  them  for  the  attainment  of  this  end! 

May  Our  Lord  and  His  blessed,  most  amiable  Mother 
vouchsafe  to  accept  and  bless  it!  We  dedicate  and  com- 
mend it  to  the  all-merciful  hearts  of  Jesus  and  Mary  by 
the  handa  of  one  of  the  most  saintly  of  the  souls  who,  con- 
secrated to  them  in  the  reUgious  state,  have  been  their  con- 
solation and  their  glory.  Blessed  Margaret  Mary,  true 
spouse,  apostle  and  victim  of  the  Heart  of  Jesus,  worthy 
and  beloved  daughter  of  the  Queen  of  vu-gins,  holy  and 
favored  of  God,  whom  we  venerate  as  a  powerful  pro- 
tectress, a  kind,  unfailing  guide,  a  tender  mother  and 
patroness. 


CONTENTS. 


Dbdication. «• 3 

Frefacb « 7 


PART  I. 

MOTIVES  FOR  THE  PRACTICE  OF   THE  LIFE  OF  SACRIFICE  IN 

THE  RELIGIOUS  STATE,  AND  THE  EXCELLENCE  OF  THAT 

PRACTICE. 

CHAPTER  I. 

PAG9 

The  Spirit  of  Sacrifice  is  the  Essential  and  Fundamental  Spirit 
of  the  Christian  Life. , 21 

CHAPTER  n. 

The  Essential  Spirit  of  the  Religious  Life  consists  in  Striving 
after  the  Perfection  of  a  Victim's  Life 30 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  Religious  is  the  Priest  who  Off  ere  the  Sacrifice  of  which  He 
is  Himself  the  Victim 38 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Excellence  of  the  Sacrifice  which  the  Monk  or  Nun  Off  ere 
to  God 43 

CHAPTER  V. 

The  Fervent  Religious  Merits  to  be  Entitled  a  Martyr.    The 
Connection  between  this  Appellation  and  that  of  Victim ...     50 

13 


14  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

A  Closer  Consideration  of  the  Title  of  Religious.  The  Connec- 
tion between  this  Title  and  that  of  Victim 58 

CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Soul  of  the  Religious  is  the  True  Spouse  of  Jesus  Christ; 
and  it  is  in  her  Sacrifice  of  herself  that  her  Union  with  Him 
is  Effected 65 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

On  the  Different  Degrees  of  Union  with  Jesus  in  His  Character 
of  Victim ;  Some  Preliminary  Considerations  on  Union  with 
Our  Lord  in  General ^ 73 

CHAPTER  IX. 

On  the  Union  of  the  Soul  of  the  Religious  with  Jesus  Christ  in 
the  Oblation  He  Offered 78 

CHAPTER  X. 

On  the  Union  of  the  Soul  of  the  Religious  with  Jesus  Christ  in 
His  Immolation  of  Himself 85 

CHAPTER  XI. 

On  the  Union  of  the  Soul  of  the  Religious  with  Jesus  Christ  in 
His  State  of  a  Glorified  Victim 93 

CHAPTER  XII. 

The  Maternal  Assistance  of  Mary  Affords  the  Sweetest  Consola- 
tion to  the  Religious  in  the  Way  of  Sacrifice 101 


PART  II. 

THE  NOVITIATE. 

CHAPTER  I. 

The  Exact  Conception  which  is  to  be  Formed  of  the  Novitiate. 
The  Novice  is  a  Victim  Offered  up  before  God 109 

CHAPTER  II. 

On  the  First  Disposition  Indispensable  to  the  Postulant  and  to 
the  Novice  on  Entering  the  Novitiate 114 


CONTENTS.  15 

CHAPTER  III. 

rAca 
On  Self-renunciation 119 

CHAPTER  IV. 
On  Humility. 126 

CHAPTER  V. 
Continuation  of  the  Same  Subject.     On  the  Love  of  Humiliation.  .   131 

CHAPTER  VL 
On  the  Trials  of  the  Novitiate 136 

CHAPTER  VII. 
On  the  Trials  which  Come  Directly  from  our  Superiors. 143 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
On  the  Ruling  Passion 162 

CHAPTER  IX. 

On  the  Manner  in  which  to  Combat  and  to  Conquer  our  Ruling 
Passion 158 

CHAPTER  X. 
On  Faults  of  Character. 167 

CHAPTER  XL 
Faults  of  Character  (continued).     How  they  are  to  be  Cured 176 

CHAPTER  XII. 
On  Religious  Simplicity. 183 

CHAPTER  XIIL 
On  Simplicity  in  the  Practice  of  Obedience. 190 

CHAPTER  XrV. 
On  Simplicity  in  the  Practice  of  Obedience  (continued) 196 


16  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XV. 

PA68 

On  the  Lore  which  the  Novice  Ought  to  Have  for  the  Solitude  of 
the  Novitiate. 201 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

On  the  Relations  to  be  Maintained    between  Novices  and  the 
Members  of  their  Family. 207 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

An  Exhortation  Delivered  by  a  Superior  to  a  Novice. 216 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Some  Final  Counsels  to  Novices. .^. . .  ..^  .t«  ...  224 

PART   III. 

THE  RELIGIOUS  VOWS 

CHAPTER  I. 
The  Day  of  Solemn  Profession.    What  a  Vow  Really  Is 228 

CHAPTER  II. 
On  the  Religious  Vows „. ...  .^. . .  235 

CHAPTER  III. 
On  the  Vow  of  Poverty ... . . . .  239 

CHAPTER  IV. 
On  the  Virtue  of  Poverty 245 

CHAPTER  V. 

On  the  Different  Degrees  of  Perfection  in  the  Virtue  of  Poverty. 
The  First  Degree 254 

CHAPTER  VI. 
On  the  Second  and  Third  D^rees  of  the  Virtue  of  Poverty. . . .  259 

CHAPTER  VII. 
On  the  Vow  of  Chastity. . . , 264 


CONTENTS.  17 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

PA«B 

On  Chastity  of  the  Heart 271 

CHAPTER  rX. 
On  the  Enclosure  and  the  Spirit  of  the  Goister 280 

CHAPTER  X. 
On  the  Vow  of  Obedience 288 

CHAPTER  XI. 
On  the  Excellence  of  the  Virtue  of  Obedience 295 

CHAPTER  XII. 
On  the  Necessity  of  the  Virtue  of  Obedience 303 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
On  the  Qualities  of  the  \irtue  of  Obedience 312 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
On  the  Qualities  of  the  Virtue  of  Obedience  (continued) 319 

CHAPTER  XV. 

On  the  Supernatural  Respect  which  the  Religious  Owes  to  His 

Superiors 326 

A  Letter  of  St.  Ignatius  on  Obedience 333 

PART  IV. 

ON  COMMUNITY  LIFE, 

CHAPTER  I. 
On  What  is  to  be  Understood  by  Community  Life 346 

CHAPTER  IL 
On  the  Blessings  of  Commimity  Life 352 

CHAPTER  HI. 
On  Community  Life  and  the  Life  of  Sacrifice 358 


18  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

PACK 

On  the  Holy  Rules  and  the  Obligations  they  Impose  on  the 
Religious 363 

CHAPTER  V. 
On  the  Spirit  of  Strict  Observance 368 

CHAPTER  VI. 

On  Silence:     The  Praise  Given  to  it  by  the  Saints.    Monastic 
Traditions 374 

CHAPTER  VII. 
On  Regular  Silence 380 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

On  Manual  Labor.     The  Examples  of  Our  Lord  and  of  the 
Saints 388 

CHAPTER  IX. 
On  the  Sanctification  of  Manual  Labor 400 

CHAPTER  X. 
On  the  Chapter  of  Faults 410 

CHAPTER  XI. 
On  the  Penances  Performed  in  Conununity 416 

CHAPTER  XII 
On  Religious  Modesty 422 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
On  the  Rules  of  Religious  Modesty ►.  427 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
On  Mutual  Charity.    The  Excellence  of  this  Virtue 432 

CHAPTER  XV. 
On  Charity  of  Mind .438 


CONTENTS.  19 

CHAPTER  XVL 

pAoa 

Oa  Charity  of  the  Heart 444 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

On  Charity  in  Speech  and  in  Behavior.     What  Ought  to  be 
Avoided 45I 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

On  Charity  in  Speech  and  in  Behavior.     What  Ought  to  be 
Observed 458 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
On  the  Family  Spirit  in  Religious  Conununitiee 465 

CHAPTER  XX. 
On  the  Principal  Pious  Exercises  in  Use  in  Religion 470 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
On  the  Last  Sacrifice  which  the  Religious  is  Required  to  Make.  478 

fiiPILOGUK 487 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  SACRIFICK 


part  r 


nDotiPcs  tot  tbe  practice  ot  tbe  Xfte  ot  Sacdttce 

in  tbe  l^eltdious  State,  anb  tbe  Bicellence  ot 

tbat  practice* 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE   SPIRIT   OP  SACRIFICE   IS  THE   ESSENTIAL   AND   FUNDA- 
MENTAL SPIRIT  OF  THE   CHRISTIAN  LIFE. 

Some  time  ago  we  wrote  a  short  treatise  entitled  "The 
Union  of  the  Christian  with  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  His 
Life  of  Sacrifice."  Many  Religious  are  acquainted  with  it. 
In  the  first  chapters  of  the  present  work  it  is  our  purpose 
to  demonstrate  that  the  spirit  of  sacrifice  is  the  essence  of 
the  Christian  life;  an  assertion  the  truth  of  which  we 
imagine  it  is  not  possible  to  question  for  a  moment.  But 
if  that  assertion  is  incontestable,  even  self-evident,  it  will 
be  seen  that  the  closest  relations  exist  between  the  vic- 
tim's spirit  of  sacrifice  and  the  religious  life,  since,  if  the 
spirit  of  sacrifice  is  the  foundation  and  essential  character- 
istic of  the  Christian  life,  the  reUgious  life,  which  aspires 
to  the  attainment  of  the  greatest  perfection  of  the  Chris- 

21 


22     THE  ESSENTIAL  AND  FUNDAMENTAL  SPIRIT 

tian  life,  ought,  for  that  very  reason,  to  aim  at  attaining 
the  perfection  of  a  victim's  life  of  self -surrender.  The 
present  treatise,  which  is  intended  for  the  use  of  persons 
living  in  community,  accordingly  does  not  present  to  them 
as  a  subject  of  meditation  one  isolated  truth,  but  on  the 
contrary  a  succession  of  truths  naturally  suited  to  them, 
and  which,  should  it  so  please  Our  Lord  and  His  holy 
Mother,  may  prove  highly  beneficial. 

However,  since  it  is  probable  that  among  the  readers  of 
this  second  work  there  will  be  many  who  may  not  have 
read  the  first,  and  since  the  doctrine  laid  down  in  the  first 
is  naturally  the  basis  of  the  truths  we  are  about  to  ex- 
pound in  the  second,  we  will,  in  this  opening  chapter, 
briefly  recapitulate  that  doctrine,  in  order  that  thus  the 
connection  of  the  ideas  upon  which  we  shall  subsequently 
enlarge  may  be  more  clearly  seen,  and  our  teaching  ren- 
dered a  more  complete  whole. 

No  truth  is  more  elementary  than  this:  The  Christian 
is  another  Christ,  Christianus  alter  Christus.  We  shall  now 
proceed  to  show  how  Catholic  theology,  based  on  the  teach- 
ing of  Holy  Scripture  and  the  Fathers  of  the  Church, 
explains  and  develops  that  truth. 

In  every  human  being  there  is  a  threefold  life,  each  of 
which  is  real  and  distinct  from  the  others ;  there  is  the  life 
of  the  body,  the  natural  life  of  the  soul,  and  the  super- 
natural hfe  of  the  soul.  The  life  of  the  body  we  possess 
in  common  with  the  lower  animals;  it  is  finite,  and,  in 
fact,  destined  to  be  ended  by  death. 

The  natural  life  of  the  soul  consists  in  the  possession 
and  exercise  of  the  natural  faculties  of  the  soul:  impres- 
sionability, understanding,  judgment,  memory,  will,  and 
freedom. 

This  life  is  common  to  all  men,  whether  Christians  or 
unbelievers.  It  is  far  more  perfect  than  the  former,  far 
superior  to  it,  but  the  acts  proper  to  it  can  not  of  them- 


OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  LIFE.  23 

selves  alone  merit  for  us  the  friendship  of  God  and  eternal 
salvation. 

The  supernatural  life  of  the  soul  is  that  which  is  given 
to  us  in  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism.  It  is  the  life  of  Jesus 
Christ  Himself.  When  He  says:  ''I  am  come  that  they 
may  have  life  and  may  have  it  more  abundantly''  (John 
X.  10),  it  is  of  this  supernatural  life  that  He  speaks.  This 
same  life  St.  Paul  depicted  with  a  masterly  hand  and  held 
up  for  the  admiration  of  the  early  Christians  in  the  words: 
"I  live,  now  not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me"  (Gal.  ii.  20). 

A  life  of  this  nature,  as  is  evident,  argues  interior  acts 
which  are  its  offspring,  and  which  correspond  to  it.  This 
led  St.  Paul  to  say:  "Let  this  mind  be  in  you  which  was 
also  in  Christ  Jesus"  (Phil.  ii.  5);  and  since  life  does  not 
confine  its  operation  to  the  interior,  but  also  manifests 
itself  externally  by  the  outward  actions  it  produces,  the 
great  Apostle  says  in  another  place:  Wherefore,  if  we  have 
received  within  us  this  new  Ufe,  this  spiritual,  divine  life, 
our  external  actions  must  spring  from  it  and  bear  its  im- 
press: ''If  we  Uve  in  the  Spirit,  let  us  also  walk  in  the 
Spirit"  (Gal.  V.  25). 

This  life  is  so  real,  so  true,  that  just  as  the  act  whereby 
God  gave  us  the  first  life,  which  is  that  of  the  body,  and 
the  second  life,  which  is  the  natural  life  of  the  soul,  was 
truly  an  act  of  creation,  so  the  communication  of  the 
supernatural  life  may  with  equal  justice  be  termed  an  act 
of  creation.  "You  have  been  created  in  Jesus  Christ," 
the  same  Apostle  says,  "a  new  creature"  (II.  Cor.  v.  17); 
and  that  you  may  know  that  the  connection  between 
this  life  and  its  soiurce  remains  unbroken,  I  proclaim  to 
you  this  fact,  that  we  all,  who  have  been  baptized  into 
Jesus  Christ,  form  but  one  body  with  Him.  We  are  the 
members  of  that  body  and  He  is  the  head;  "we  are 
members  of  His  body,  of  His  flesh,  and  of  His  bones" 
(Eph.  v.  30). 


24     THE  ESSENTIAL  AND  FUNDAMENTAL  SPIRIT 

It  is  impossible,  therefore,  that  our  union  with  Our 
Lord  could  be  more  intimate  than  it  is.  It  follows,  as  a 
natural  consequence,  that  His  life  is  our  life. 

St.  Augustine,  referring  to  the  origin  of  the  union  that 
exists  between  Christ  and  the  Christian,  says:  "The  same 
grace  which  made  Christ  to  be  our  Head,  made  us  His 
members.  Ea  gratia  fit  ah  initio  fidei  sues  homo  quicunque 
Christianus,  qua  gratia  Homo  ille  ah  initio  suo  Jactus  est 
Christus.  De  ipso  spiritu  est  hie  renatus  de  quo  est  ille 
natus.  By  that  grace  whereby  any  man  becomes  a  Chris- 
tian from  the  commencement  of  his  faith,  by  the  same 
grace  that  Man  from  the  beginning  was  made  Christ. 
By  the  selfsame  Spirit  by  whose  operation  He  was  bom, 
the  man  is  born  again." 

Thus  that  truth  which  invests  us  with  such  dignity  is 
abundantly  proved:  the  Christian  is  another  Christ: 
Christianus  alter  Christus. 

But  what  follows  from  this?  It  follows  that  the  life  of 
the  Christian  is  essentially  that  of  a  victim.  Why  so? 
Tliis  is  the  reason:  It  has  been  shown  that  the  Christian 
is  another  Christ ;  now  we  know  that  Jesus  Christ  is  pre- 
eminently and  supereminently  a  sacrificial  victim. 

In  order  to  prove  this  we  must  first  ask  ourselves  for 
what  end  Our  Lord  came  on  earth,  and  then  show  that 
He  willed  to  attain  that  end  in  the  capacity  of  a  victim 
and  by  a  victim's  self-surrender. 

The  end  for  which  Our  Lord  came  on  earth  was  un- 
questionably the  glory  of  His  Father;  and  to  promote 
that  glory,  He  achieved  the  salvation  of  souls.  It  is,  in 
fact,  impossible  to  perceive  any  other  end  or  purpose  in 
the  thirty-three  years  of  Our  Saviour's  life  on  earth — for, 
since  the  accomplishment  of  that  end,  the  greater  glory 
of  God,  is  obligatory  upon  every  created  being,  how  much 
the  more  ought  this  to  be  apparent  as  the  actuating  motive 
of  every  action  in  the  life  of  the  Incarnate  Word,  in  whom 


OF   THE  CHRISTIAN  LIFE,  25 

everything  was  absolutely  perfect!  This  was  then  the 
continual,  all-absorbing  thought  of  His  Heart  and  mind: 
He  declares  this  Himself  most  emphatically:  *'I  seek  not 
My  own  glory,  but  the  glory  of  Him  that  sent  Me'*  (John 
viii.  50;  vii.  18). 

Now  in  what  character  and  by  what  act  did  He  chiefly 
give  glory  to  His  Father?  Obviously  it  was  by  this  sacri- 
fice of  Himself,  and  in  the  capacity  of  a  sacrificial  victim. 
His  sacrifice  of  Himself  is  the  one  great  act  He  came  to 
accomplish,  and  under  no  aspect  does  He  appear  so  ex- 
alted, so  perfect,  as  in  His  condition  as  a  victim.  By  that 
act  and  in  that  character  He  restored  to  His  Father  the 
glory  of  which  He  had  been  deprived  by  sin,  and  restored 
it  in  superabundant  measure.  In  how  sublime  a  manner 
He,  the  God  made  man,  rendered  a  tribute  of  praise  to 
the  majesty  of  God  the  Father,  when  He  abased  Himself 
so  profoundly  in  the  mystery  of  the  Incarnation,  offering 
Himself  as  an  oblation,  and  when  He  immolated  Himself 
as  a  holocaust  on  Calvary!  How  infinite  the  hoHness  of 
God  is  shown  to  be,  how  terrible  His  justice,  since  so  great 
a  satisfaction  is  demanded,  so  stupendous  an  atonement! 
It  is  indeed  impossible  to  imagine  any  act  whereby  greater 
honor  could  be  given  to  God  than  that  which  accrued  to 
Him  from  the  oblation  and  self-immolation  of  His  only 
Son;  and  this  is  what  the  Redeemer  Himself  asserts  in 
addressing  to  His  Father  these  words  at  the  moment  of 
His  Incarnation:  "Sacrifice  and  oblation  Thou  wouldest 
not,  but  a  body  Thou  hast  fitted  to  Me;  holocausts  for 
sin  did  not  please  Thee.  Then  said  I:  Behold  I  come, 
to  do  Thy  will,  O  God"  (Heb.  x.  5-9). 

Thus  it  has  been  shown  what  was  the  principal  end 
which  Our  Lord  proposed  to  Himself:  His  Father's  glory; 
and  wondrously  well  that  end  was  attained.  But  Jesus 
Christ,  in  His  great  mercy,  desired  that  the  salvation  of 
souls  should  be  effected  in  conjunction  with  the  attain- 


26     THE  ESSENTIAL  AND  FUNDAMENTAL  SPIRIT 

ment  of  that  end;  that  is  to  say,  He,  the  God  of  charity, 
willed  that  the  selfsame  acts  which  gave  so  great  glory 
to  God  should  also  be  the  price  of  our  Redemption.  Thus 
it  was  also  in  His  state,  in  His  capacity  of  a  victim  of 
expiation  that  He  achieved  our  salvation.  To  this  truth 
the  Holy  Scriptures  afford  abundant  testimony;  under 
both  the  Old  and  the  New  Dispensation  the  witness  they 
bear  is  one  and  the  same. 

Under  the  ancient  law  the  prophet  Isaias  plainly  refers  to 
Oiu*  Lord  when  he  says:  "He  was  offered  because  it  was 
His  own  will.  He  shall  be  led  as  a  sheep  to  the  slaughter. 
He  was  struck  by  God  and  afflicted.  He  was  wounded 
for  our  iniquities;  He  was  bruised  for  our  sins,  and  by  this 
He  hath  justified  many,  for  He  hath  borne  their  iniquities" 
(Is.  liii.). 

In  the  New  Testament  St.  Paul  is  the  great  preacher 
and  exponent  of  the  doctrine  of  our  Redemption.  In  his 
epistles  he  recalls  it  constantly  to  our  mind.  **  Christ," 
he  says,  "was  offered  once  to  exhaust  the  sins  of  many. 
To  His  Father  He  saith:  Sacrifice  and  oblation  Thou 
wouldest  not,"  adding  immediately:  "Behold  I  come  to 
do  Thy  will,  O  God  "  (Heb.  ix.  28;  x.  8,  9).  Thus  it  is  in 
the  accomplishment  of  that  will  of  God  that  we  were  sanc- 
tified by  the  oblation  of  the  body  of  Jesus  Christ  once 
made.  "Jesus,  having  offered  one  sacrifice  (that  is.  Him- 
self) for  sins,  merited  to  sit  forever  on  the  right  hand  of 
God,  His  Father:  and  by  this  one  oblation  He  hath  per- 
fected forever  them  that  are  sanctified;  and  the  Holy 
Ghost  also  Himself  doth  testify  this  to  us,  for  He  saith: 
Their  sins  and  their  iniquities  will  I  remember  no  more  " 
(Heb.  x.  12,  14,  17). 

Such  are  the  words  in  which  St.  Paul  speaks  of  the  obla- 
tion Christ  offered,  and  the  results  of  that  oblation.  What 
he  says  of  his  immolation  of  himself  is  yet  more  striking. 
It  would,  however,  be  beyond  our  power  to  quote  one- 


OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  LIFE.  27 

half  of  the  almost  innumerable  passages  in  his  epistles 
which  tell  us  that  it  is  through  the  shedding  of  Christ's 
blood  and  by  His  death  upon  the  cross  that  complete 
reparation  has  been  made,  and  that  through  Him  God 
the  Father  has  "reconciled  all  things  unto  Himself  both 
as  to  the  things  on  earth  and  the  things  that  are  in  heaven'* 
(Col.  i.  20).  Again,  St.  Peter,  the  Prince  of  the  Apostles, 
speaking  in  his  turn  says  in  his  first  epistle:  All  of  you 
know  well  "that  you  were  not  redeemed  with  corruptible 
things,  as  gold  or  silver,  .  .  .  but  with  the  precious 
blood  of  Christ,  as  of  a  lamb  unspotted  and  undefiled; 
foreknown  indeed  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  but 
manifested  in  the  last  times  for  you''  (I.  Peter  i.  18-20); 
for  love  of  us. 

Hence  we  see  that  no  doubt  is  possible  upon  this  point; 
the  end  for  which  Our  Lord  came  into  the  world  was  the 
glory  of  His  Father,  and  He  graciously  vouchsafed  that 
simultaneously  with  the  realization  of  that  end,  our  salva- 
tion should  be  accomplished;  and  He  achieved  both 
those  grand  designs  in  the  sublimest  manner  by  the  sacri- 
fice of  Himself  and  the  shedding  of  His  blood.  Thus  we 
must  conclude  that  before  all,  and  above  all,  Jesus,  in  His 
quality  of  Redeemer,  is  a  propitiatory  victim.  The 
deepest  sentiment  of  the  Heart  of  Jesus,  the  most  habitual 
and  general  posture  of  His  Heart,  was  that  of  a  victim; 
and  "of  all  His  states  the  one  which  best  expresses  His 
perfect  consummation  in  His  Father,  and  at  the  same 
time  shows  the  magnitude  of  the  gift  of  Himself  which  of 
His  own  will  He  gave  to  mankind  by  His  immolation  of 
Himself  for  them,  is  the  state  of  a  victim"  (Mgr.  Baudry, 
"Le  Coeur  de  Jesus"). 

Now  the  Christian  is,  in  virtue  of  his  baptism,  another 
Christ.  Consequently  he  is  before  all,  and  above  all,  a 
propitiatory  victim. 

But  if  the  grace  received  at  baptism  is  a  grace  that 


28     THE  ESSENTIAL  AND  FUNDAMENTAL  SPIRIT 

enables  the  Christian  to  become  a  victim  of  propitiation, 
it  is  evident  that  his  dispositions,  his  aspirations,  his 
whole  life  ought  to  be  the  dispositions,  the  aspirations, 
the  life  of  a  victim.  This  is  in  fact  a  foregone  conclusion: 
The  grace  of  our  baptism  is  a  sacrificial  grace.  The  differ- 
ent degrees  of  perfection  which  this  initial  grace  may, 
through  the  assistance  of  actual  graces,  later  on  acquire, 
are  the  different  degrees  of  perfection  appertaining  to  the 
life  of  a  victim.  Now  the  life  by  which  the  Christian  who 
merely  keeps  the  commandments  of  God  and  of  the 
Church,  yet  keeps  them  conscientiously,  and  thus  lives  in 
a  real  union  with  Our  Lord,  is  indeed  that  of  a  \Tictim; 
but  although  he  performs  all  the  acts  essential  to  that  life, 
it  is,  in  his  case,  in  an  imperfect  stage.*  Whereas  the  gen- 
erous Christian  who  applies  himself  to  follow  the  evangel- 
ical counsels,  and  by  that  means  aims  at  the  acquisition 
of  Christian  perfection,  who  consequently  lives  in  a  close 
and  intimate  union  with  Jesus  Christ,  his  divine  Master, 
such  a  Christian  as  that  aspires  to  the  attainment  of  the 
perfection  of  a  victim^s  life  of  self-surrender. 

How  sublime  does  the  Christian  life  appear  when  re^ 
garded  from  this  point  of  view!  This  is,  so  it  seems  to 
us,  its  most  beauteous  aspect,  the  one  which  reveals  more 
simply,  more  accurately,  more  perfectly  than  any  other 
the  true  character  of  our  spiritual  life  in  its  beginning,  its 
progress,  and  its  consummation.  Holy  Scripture  tells  us: 
"Whom  God  the  Father  foreknew,  them  He  also  predes- 
tinated to  be  made  conformable  to  the  image  of  His  Son'' 
(Rom.  viii.  29).  Now  this  conformity,  this  necessary 
resemblance  to  Jesus  Christ,  is  the  likeness  which  exists 
between  Jesus  Christ  and  ourselves  if  we  are  victims  with 


*  "He  that  keepeth  the  law  multiplieth  offerings.  It  is  a  whole- 
some sacrifice  to  take  heed  to  the  commandments"  (Ecclus.  xxxv. 
1,2). 


OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  LIFE.  29 

Him  and  like  Him,  in  the  sight  of  His  Father,  striving 
after  the  same  ends,  actuated  by  the  same  spirit. 

After  this,  who  will  wonder  at  hearing  St.  Paul  declare 
to  the  Romans  that  the  end  and  object  of  his  apostolic 
vocation  and  of  his  sacerdotal  ministry  is  to  procure  vic- 
tims for  God,  by  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel?  "I  have 
written  to  you,  brethren,  more  boldly,"  he  says,  "as  it 
were  putting  you  in  mind  because  of  the  grace  which  is 
given  me  from  God,  that  I  should  be  the  minister  of  Christ 
Jesus  among  the  Gentiles"  (Rom.  xv.  15,  16),  in  order  to 
exercise  in  their  regard  the  functions  of  the  priesthood 
and  my  power  of  offering  sacrifice,  by  announcing  to  them 
the  Gospel  of  God,  and  thus  offering  an  oblation  of  the 
Gentiles  acceptable  to  God  and  sanctified  by  the  Holy 
Spirit.*  Shortly  before  we  find  him  exhorting  the  Romans 
to  enter  upon  this  way,  nay,  urging  them  to  do  so  in  these 
forcible  words:  **I  beseech  you  by  the  mercy  of  God, 
that  you  present  your  bodies  a  living  sacrifice,  holy  and 
pleasing  unto  God"  (Rom.  xii.  1). 

Happy  the  soul  who  meditates  continually  upon  these 
truths  and  learns  to  comprehend  their  true  meaning! 
That  soul  will  then  understand  the  designs  of  God  in  her 
regard,  she  will  understand  the  whole  economy  of  grace, 
and  the  end  for  which  she  has  been  called  into  fellowship 
with  God  in  Jesus  Christ. 

Let  us  then,  as  Bossuet  says,  enter  with  Christ  into  this 
spirit  of  self-surrender;  if  He  sanctifies  Himself,  if  He 
sacrifices  Himself  for  us,  we  ought  also  to  sacrifice  our- 
selves for  Him.  Thus  we  shall  be  sanctified  truly  and 
indeed;  and  Jesus  Christ  will  "of  God  be  made  unto  us 
wisdom  and  justice  and  sanctification  and  redemption." 


*  This  is  the  interpretation  of  this  passage  by  Cornelius  ^  Lapide: 
Ad  hoc  sum  sacerdos  mysticus  ut  per  meam  prcBdicationem  Gentiles 
qtuiH  victimoB  mundcB  Deo  offerantur,  etc. 


CHAFl^R  n. 

THE  ESSENTIAL  SPIRIT  OF  THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  CONSISTS  IN 
STRIVING  AFTER  THE  PERFECTION  OF  A  VICTIM'S  LIFE. 

Every  Christian  is  a  victim.  He  is  so  in  virtue  of  his 
baptism.  He  is  a  victim  offered  to  God  with  Jesus,  Hke 
Jesus,  for  the  same  end  and  object  as  the  sacrifice  offered 
by  that  adorable  Redeemer  Himself. 

This  is  a  fundamental  truth  on  which  we  can  never  suffi- 
ciently meditate,  for  it  teaches  us  in  what  our  true  glory 
consists;  it  reveals  to  us  the  excellence  of  the  state  of 
grace  in  which  we  stand,  and  the  obligations  that  state 
imposes  on  us.  But,  as  we  have  already  given  the  reader 
to  understand  in  the  foregoing  chapter,  if  it  is  indubi- 
tably true  that  every  Christian  is  a  victim,  it  is  also  true 
that  by  no  means  is  every  Christian  bound  to  strive  after 
the  attainment  of  the  perfection  of  a  victim's  life  and  state 
of  self-surrender. 

It  is  enough  for  the  ordinary  Christian  to  keep  the  com- 
mandments in  order  not  to  fall  away  from  the  grace 
received  in  baptism.  More  than  this  God  does  not  ask 
of  him;  and  he  who  faithfully  observes  God's  law  is  really 
and  truly  a  victim  in  the  sight  of  the  divine  Majesty, 
although  at  the  same  time  an  imperfect  one. 

Now  besides  this  ordinary  and  imperfect  state  there  is 
a  holier  and  a  higher  state,  the  life  of  perfection,  in  which 
the  fortunate  individual  who  embraces  it  is  not  content 
with   the   exact   fulfilment   of   the   commandments,   but 

30 


ESSENTIAL  SPIRIT  OF  THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE,     31 

strives  with  generous  zeal  to  practise  the  evangehcal  coun- 
sels. Our  Lord,  when  on  earth,  did  not  confine  Himself 
to  recalUng  to  our  minds  the  precepts  we  are  bound  to 
obey;  He  also  proposed  to  us  counsels  to  be  followed. 
These  counsels  are  contained  in  the  holy  Gospel;  they 
relate  to  various  virtues;  the  principal  ones,  however,  the 
counsels  par  excellence,  are  those  which  recommend  the 
practice  of  poverty,  obedience,  and  chastity  in  their  high- 
est, most  perfect  degree. 

When  a  generous  promise  has  been  made  to  God  to  fol- 
low those  counsels,  not  merely  a  pious  resolution  and  an 
interior  good  will  such  as  any  fervent  Christian  living  in 
the  world  may  have,  but  a  solemn  vow,  in  a  community 
approved  by  the  Church,  this  constitutes  the  religious 
state;  and  the  devout  Christian  who  enters  upon  this 
supernatural  life  is  actually  in  a  state  which  tends  to  the 
practice  of  Christian  perfection.  The  meaning  of  this 
evidently  is  that  his  state  is  the  state  of  a  soul  progressing 
with  ever  greater  fervor  in  the  way  of  self-immolation  and 
of  sacrifice.  In  his  character  of  a  Christian  he  is  already 
a  victim;  in  his  character  of  a  Religious,  he  aspires  to 
become  a  perfect  victim. 

O  happy  state,  which  calls  forth  the  admiration  of 
angels  and  is  a  source  of  consolation  to  the  hearts  of  Jesus 
and  Mary!  The  perfection  to  which  the  Religious  is  called 
is  not  acquired  in  a  single  day;  it  is  not  demanded  of  him 
from  the  outset,  on  his  entry  into  the  cloister;  but  day 
by  day  he  will  advance  toward  that  goal,  it  will  be  his 
aspiration  to  gain  that  precious  treasure.  The  vows  he 
has  taken,  his  holy  Rule,  all  the  many  means  that  con- 
stantly present  themselves  to  the  fervent  Religious  at 
every  step  on  his  heavenward  way,  will  contribute  effica- 
ciously to  the  attainment  of  his  end,  and  by  making  use 
of  them  he  will  attain  that  end.  God  will  be  glorified  in 
him,  and  the  God  of  all  goodness,  beholding  in  that  faith- 


32     ESSENTIAL  SPIRIT  OF  THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE. 

ful  Religious  the  image  of  Jesus  Christ,  will  be  graciously 
pleased  to  say  in  the  presence  of  His  angels:  "This  is  My 
beloved  son  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased"  (Matt.  xvii.  5). 

This  is  indeed  saying  a  great  deal.  Yet  nothing  is  sim- 
pler than  the  truth  which  is  here  laid  down. 

It  is,  however,  only  because  the  true  Religious  is,  with 
Christ  and  like  Christ,  a  complete  victim  before  God,  that 
his  likeness  to  Christ,  in  which  Ihe  Father  takes  delight, 
is  a  perfect  likeness.  For  it  is  In  his  capacity  of  a  pro- 
pitiatory victim  that  Our  Lord  renders  to  the  Father  all 
the  glory  due  to  Him,  and  is  regarded  by  Him  with  good 
pleasure.  Thus  it  is  also  in  the  attitude  of  a  victim,  which 
the  Religious  assumes  in  virtue  of  his  religious  profession, 
that  he  becomes  both  like  unto  the  image  of  Christ  and 
acceptable  in  the  sight  of  the  Father. 

The  perfect  Religious  therefore  (one,  that  is,  who 
corresponds  faithfully  to  the  grace  of  his  vocation)  will  be 
a  perfect  victim.  Here  let  us  pause  for  a  moment,  and 
listen  to  those  who  are  best  qualified  to  speak  on  this  sub- 
ject, and  it  will  be  seen  how  fully  their  ideas  and  their 
teaching  confirm  the  truths  which  we  have  just  enunciated. 
St.  Augustine,  whose  beautiful  treatise,  entitled  "De 
Civitate  Dei,"  abounds  in  striking  passages  on  the  Chris- 
tian's union  with  Our  Lord  in  His  life  as  a  victim,  says 
expressly:  "That  man  is  truly  a  holocaust  who,  being 
consecrated  to  God  and  dedicated  to  His  service,  dies 
to  the  world  and  lives  to  God  alone."  This  passage  is 
exphcit.  It  is  obviously  the  monk  or  nun  who  is  here 
spoken  of. 

"Under  the  Old  Law,"  says  St.  Gregory  the  Great, 
"the  flesh  of  an  alien  victim  was  immolated;  but  by  the 
practise  of  obedience  a  man  immolates  his  own  will." 
These  words  are  specially  true  in  regard  to  religious  obe- 
dience. We  will  hear  what  the  same  holy  Pope  says  con- 
cerning poverty: 


ESSENTIAL  SPIRIT  OF  THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE.     33 

"Let  us  suppose  that  a  man  resolves  to  give  all  that  he 
possesses  to  the  poor,  reserving  nothing  for  himself;  by 
what  name  shall  we  designate  his  intention?  It  is  a  holo- 
caust. His  piety  induces  him  to  offer  a  perfect  sacrifice, 
for  when  we  speak  of  a  holocaust  we  mean  an  entire,  a 
complete  sacrifice.  In  fact  those  who  give  everything 
to  God,  who  offer  to  Him  all  that  they  have,  all  that  they 
are,  all  that  they  love,  who  retain  absolutely  nothing  for 
themselves,  but  sacrifice  to  God  their  senses,  their  speech, 
their  life,  in  short,  aU  the  gifts  they  have  received  from 
Him — those  persons,  I  say,  offer  to  God  the  most  perfect 
holocaust."  Such  are  the  holy  Pontiff's  words.  Un- 
questionably it  is  the  state,  the  sentiments  of  the  true 
Religious  which  he  here  depicts. 

Elsewhere,  speaking  of  chastity,  the  third  of  the  relig- 
ious vows,  he  says:  ''There  are  some  who,  having  conse- 
crated and  dedicated  themselves  to  God  by  solemn  vows, 
have  reached  so  high  a  degree  of  perfection  that  by  the 
courageous  resolve  to  preserve  their  chastity  intact,  they 
have  become  in  a  certain  sense  proof  against  attack  both 
in  body  and  mind.  Assuredly  such  persons,  by  virtue  of 
the  life  they  lead,  are  really  a  holocaust." 

Thus  it  is  evident  that  the  profession  of  obedience,  of 
chastity,  and  of  poverty  places  the  Religious  in  a  state 
which  is  one  of  perfect  sacrifice,  because  the  victim  he 
immolates  by  that  profession  is  himself,  and  not  another. 

After  St.  Gregory  let  us  listen  to  St.  Thomas  Aquinas, 
who  is  universally  acknowledged  to  be  the  glory,  the  prince 
of  theologians. 

"Those,"  he  says,  "are  termed  Religious,  who  dedicate 
themselves  entirely  to  the  service  of  God,  and  who  pre- 
sent themselves  to  Him  as  a  holocaust.  In  fact  the 
religious  state  may  be  regarded  as  a  holocaust  w^hereby 
a  man  offers  himself  to  God  wholly  and  entirely,  with  all 
that  he  calls  his  own.    By  the  vow  of  voluntary  poverty 


34     ESSENTIAL  SPIRIT  OF  THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE, 

all  external  possessions  are  offered  to  God;  one's  own 
body  is  consecrated  to  Him,  chiefly  by  the  vow  of  conti- 
nence; finally  man's  chief  possession,  the  soul,  is  pre- 
sented to  Him  in  its  entirety  by  obedience,  since  thereby 
the  sacrifice  of  one's  own  will  is  offered  to  Him." 

Thus  speaks  the  Angelic  Doctor.  Father  Saint  Jure,  in 
his  admirable  treatise,  ''L'homme  Religieux,"  quotes  those 
words,  and  enlarges  on  the  subject  in  this  wise: 

''The  Religious,  by  the  vows  he  takes,  constitutes  him- 
self a  sacrificial  victim  to  the  greater  glory  of  God;  and 
in  order  that  he  may  carry  them  into  practise,  he  must 
live  in  the  victim's  spirit  of  self-sacrifice,  following  the  ex- 
ample of  Our  Lord,  of  whom  St.  Paul  says  that  being 
made  a  high  priest.  He  'offered  Himself  unspotted  unto 
God'  (Heb.  ix.  14).  And  in  another  place  he  says: 
'Christ  also  hath  loved  us  and  hath  delivered  Himself 
for  us,  an  oblation  and  a  sacrifice  to  God  for  an  odor  of 
sweetness'  (Eph.  v.  2);  so  that  in  this  sublime  act  He 
was  at  one  and  the  same  time  both  Priest  and  Victim, 
the  one  who  offered  the  oblation  and  the  oblation  itself, 
as  St.  Augustine  remarks.  Now  throughout  His  whole 
life  His  attitude  was  that  of  a  victim,  and  in  the  spirit  of 
a  victim  He  performed  all  His  actions. 

"The  Religious  ought  to  mold  himself  on  the  model  of 
this  divine  Exemplar,  to  regard  himself  as  a  victim  conse- 
crated by  his  vows  to  the  service  and  the  glory  of  God. 
In  this  intention  he  ought  constantly  to  act  and  to  cause 
all  his  works  to  bear  this  sacrificial  stamp,  thus,  out  of 
love,  constituting  himself,  like  Our  Lord,  a  priest,  and  the 
one  by  whom  the  sacrifice  of  himself  is  offered,  in  order  to 
sacrifice  to  God  his  thoughts,  his  judgment,  his  will,  his 
wishes,  his  feelings,  his  own  ease  and  comfort,  everything 
in  short,  only  acting  in  every  respect  as  a  victim  whose 
destiny  is  to  be  slain  for  the  greater  glory  of  God,  already 
dying  to  all  around  by  the  mystic  death  of  which  St.  Paul 


ESSENTIAL  SPIRIT  OF  THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE,     35 

speaks  when  he  says:  'I  die  daily'  (I.  Cor.  xv.  31). 
Such  is  the  manner  in  which  the  Rehgious  ought  to  carry 
out  his  vows." 

Nothing  could  be  more  explicit  than  this  teaching  of 
the  servants  of  God  who  are  most  conversant  with  the 
science  of  the  religious  life.  But  let  us  not  grow  weary 
of  listening  to  them;  we  will  hear  what  the  gentle  St. 
Francis  of  Sales  says  on  the  subject.  He  writes  thus  to  a 
young  nun  recently  professed : 

"Take  courage,  my  dear  daughter;  you  are  now  laid  in 
spirit  on  the  sacred  altar,  there  to  be  offered  in  sacrifice, 
to  be  immolated,  nay,  even  to  be  consumed  as  a  whole 
burnt-offering  in  the  sight  of  the  living  God." 

Again,  addressing  a  postulant,  he  says:  "It  is  incum- 
bent on  me,  my  dearest  child,  to  tell  you  that  you  are 
already  wholly  dead  to  the  world,  and  the  world  is  wholly 
dead  to  you.  This  is  one  stage  in  the  sacrificial  process; 
two  more  remain.  One  is  that  of  flaying  the  victim, 
stripping  your  heart  of  self,  cutting  off,  banishing  every 
lingering  affection  you  may  yet  retain  for  nature  and  the 
world;  the  other  is  that  of  consuming  your  self-love, 
reducing  it  to  ashes  and  transforming  your  whole  soul 
into  one  bright  flame  of  celestial  charity." 

What  a  hard  saying  is  this!  Who  would  have  ex- 
pected such  austere  teaching  from  the  lips  of  the  gentle, 
indulgent  Bishop  of  Geneva!  The  reason  he  so  speaks  is 
because  the  religious  life  is  regarded  by  him,  as  by  all  the 
saints,  a  life  of  perpetual  self-immolation,  of  self-surrender 
without  reserve,  without  any  prospect  but  that  of  re- 
maining continually  upon  the  altar  of  sacrifice.  And  the 
saintly  bishop  taught  the  same  doctrine  in  the  conferences 
he  gave  to  the  Community  as  in  the  letters  he  wrote  to 
individual  members  of  his  cherished  Order  of  the  Visita- 
tion. 

"It  is  necessary  that  you  should  know,"  he  says,  "what 


36     ESSENTIAL  SPIRIT  OF  THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE. 

it  is  to  be  a  nun  and  how  to  be  a  nun.  It  is  to  be  bound 
to  serve  God  by  perpetual  mortification  of  self,  and  to  live 
to  God  alone.  It  will  not  do  to  tell  those  who  are  going 
to  embrace  the  religious  life  that  when  they  are  nuns  Our 
Lord  T^dll  take  them  on  to  Mount  Thabor,  where  they  will 
say  with  St.  Peter:  'It  is  good  for  us  to  be  here.'  On  the 
contrary,  they  must  be  told,  whether  they  are  entering 
the  novitiate  or  about  to  be  professed:  You  will  have  to 
ascend  Calvary,  to  crucify  yourself  there  with  Our  Lord; 
you  will  have  to  crucify  your  understanding  in  order  to 
place  a  restraint  upon  your  thoughts,  so  as  not  willingly 
to  give  admission  to  any  besides  those  that  are  marked 
out  for  you  by  the  vocation  you  have  chosen.  You  will 
have  even  to  crucify  your  memory  in  order  forever  to 
exclude  the  remembrance  of  what  you  left  when  you 
quitted  the  world.  Finally,  you  will  have  to  crucify  your 
own  will  and  nail  it  to  the  cross  of  Our  Lord,  that  you  may 
no  longer  employ  it  at  your  own  pleasure,  but  may  live 
in  the  practise  of  perfect  submission  and  obedience  all  the 
days  of  your  life." 

The  saint  spoke  even  more  plainly  when  addressing  his 
spiritual  daughters,  the  inmates  of  the  first  House  he 
founded  in  Paris,  who  noted  down  his  words  as  they  fell 
from  his  lips.  'Tor  what  purpose,  think  you,  my  daugh- 
ters, has  God  sent  you  into  the  world,  and  above  all  called 
you  to  the  religious  state,  if  not  in  order  that  you  may  be 
propitiatory  victims,  that  throughout  your  whole  life  you 
may  be  a  sacrifice  and  oblation  to  His  divine  Majesty, 
victims  daily  consumed  on  the  altar  of  charity?'' 

In  the  same  century  in  which  the  holy  Bishop  of  Geneva 
founded  the  Visitation,  enabling  a  great  number  of  souls 
to  take  refuge  under  its  less  rigorous  Rule,  the  far-famed 
Abb6  de  Ranee  reformed  La  Trappe,  restoring  its  pristine 
fervor  and  ancient  discipline.  The  work  achieved  by  these 
two  men  respectively  was  of  a  very  different  nature.    Yet 


ESSENTIAL  SPIRIT  OF  THE  RELIGIOUS  LIFE.     37 

the  holy  founder  and  the  austere  reformer  speak  one  and 
the  same  language.  "Consecration  by  the  vows,"  the 
latter  says,  ''is  the  inmiolation  of  a  holocaust  which 
admits  neither  of  restriction  nor  reserve."  These  words 
might  be  the  epigraph  of  his  admirable  work  on  the  sanc- 
tity and  the  duties  of  the  monastic  Ufe. 

All  who  are  taught  by  the  Holy  Ghost  make  use  of  the 
same  language,  are  animated  by  the  same  spirit.  The 
author  of  the  "Imitation"  utters  this  concise  but  sublime 
sentence:  "Verily,  the  life  of  the  good  monk  is  a  cross'' 
(Im.,  B.  iii.,  Ch.  56).  And  what  is  the  cross  if  not  the  altar 
on  which  the  victim  is  laid? 

We  will  no  longer  quote  the  testimony  of  the  saints. 
In  the  course  of  this  work  their  maxims  will  often  recur. 
We  can  not  do  better  than  conclude  this  chapter  with  the 
beautiful  utterance  of  one  of  the  most  eminent  servants 
of  God  in  our  own  day,  the  Rev.  Mother  Emilie  de  Rodat, 
Foundress  of  the  Institute  of  the  Holy  Family. 

"It  is,  above  all,"  she  said  to  her  daughters  in  religion, 
"in  His  character  of  a  victim  that  Jesus  is  our  pattern, 
and  it  is  only  by  walking  in  the  footsteps  of  Him  who 
sacrificed  Himself  for  our  sake,  to  unite  us  to  God,  that 
we  can  become  His  true  spouses." 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  RELIGIOUS  IS  THE  PRIEST  WHO  OFFERS  THE  SACRIFICE 
OF  WHICH   HE  IS  HIMSELF  THE   VICTIM. 

Clearly,  therefore,  every  Religious  is  a  victim,  and  a 
victim  in  a  special  sense  of  the  word;  that  is  to  say,  not 
merely  as  every  Christian  ought  to  be,  in  virtue  of  the  grace 
of  his  baptism,  but  with  dispositions  of  no  ordinary  zeal 
for  the  glory  of  God  and  his  personal  sanctification.  This 
point  of  view,  this  manner  of  looking  at  the  religious  life, 
has  engaged  the  attention  of  every  author  who  has  treated 
of  the  excellence  of  that  holy  state.  Bourdaloue  lays 
great  stress  upon  this  point;  in  fact  he  goes  so  far  as  to 
say  that  he  considers  no  other  capable  of  giving  us  so  nat- 
ural, so  correct  an  idea  of  what  is  involved  in  taking  the 
vows.  In  his  opinion  the  religious  life  is  preeminently 
the  life  of  a  sacrificial  victim,  and  the  act  of  profession 
which  pledges  him  irrevocably  to  lead  that  life  is  a  real 
sacrifice,  the  grandeur  of  which  we  are  compelled  to 
admire.    He  speaks  as  follows : 

''The  vows  of  religion — in  other  words,  the  religious  sac- 
rifice. But  how  is  the  religious  profession  a  sacrifice? 
In  two  ways  which  stand  in  singular  relationship  to  each 
other.  In  the  first  place  because  it  is  the  Religious  him- 
self, who,  in  his  own  person,  fills  the  office  of  the  priest 
and  offers  the  sacrifice.  In  the  second  place,  because  in 
this  sacrifice  it  is  the  Religious  who  himself,  in  his  own 
person,  holds  the  position  of  the  sacrificial  victim,  is  the 

38 


THE  RELIGIOUS  BOTH  PRIEST  AND  VICTIM.      39 

oblation  that  is  offered.  The  ReHgious,  when  he  takes 
the  vows,  is  both  priest  and  victim;  at  one  and  the  same 
time  the  priest  who  offers  the  sacrifice  and  the  victim 
who  is  offered;  the  officiating  priest,  who  by  this  same 
oblation  and  sacrifice  pledges  himself  solemnly  and  cer- 
tainly to  the  service  of  God;  the  victim  who  is  offered, 
and  who  in  consequence  of  this  oblation,  this  sacrifice, 
belongs  to  God  from  that  time  forth  in  a  very  special  and 
exclusive  manner.  Here  we  have  two  aspects  under 
which  every  Religious  may  look  upon  himself,  two  views  of 
his  state  which  ought  to  guide  him  in  regulating  his  whole 
life,  and  which,  both  the  one  and  the  other,  may  furnish 
him  with  most  edifying  reflections  and  most  salutary 
instructions  in  respect  of  the  state  he  has  embraced. 

"We  have  said  it  is  the  Religious  who  himself  and  in  his 
own  person,  in  taking  the  vows,  is  the  priest  who  offers  the 
sacrifice:  why  is  this  so?  Because  it  is  he  who  binds  him- 
self by  a  solemn  promise,  who  dedicates  himself,  who 
gives  himself,  his  very  self,  who,  in  short,  immolates  and 
sacrifices  himself.  God  is  present  at  this  sacrifice  to 
accept  it;  the  minister  deputed  by  the  Church  is  present 
to  receive  it;  the  faithful  are  present  to  witness  it  and 
bear  testimony  to  its  reality;  but  the  one  who  makes  the 
sacrifice  is  the  ReUgious  himself,  and  no  one  can  make  it 
for  him." 

Such  are  the  words  of  the  celebrated  Jesuit.  Let  us 
follow  up  his  idea  and  consider  in  turn  these  two  facts: 
the  ReHgious  is,  in  the  sacrifice  of  himself,  at  once  the 
priest  who  offers  the  sacrifice  and  the  victim  who  is  offered. 
The  ReHgious  is  himself  the  priest  who  offers  the  sacri- 
fice of  himself. 

In  the  first  place  it  behooves  us  to  know  that  the  sacer- 
dotal character,  as  well  as  the  character  of  victim,  orig- 
inates in  the  grace  of  baptism.  In  that  sacrament,  in  fact, 
we  received  not  only  the  spirit  of  a  sacrificial  victim,  but 


40      THE  RELIGIOUS  BOTH  PRIEST  AND  VICTIM. 

also  of  a  sacrificing  priest.  By  the  first  we  are  consecrated 
and  dedicated  to  God  in  the  capacity  of  perpetual  vic- 
tims before  the  Most  High,  and  we  receive  certain  infused 
supernatural  dispositions  which  correspond  to  the  obliga- 
tions of  our  state  of  victim.  By  the  second,  our  will, 
assisted  by  divine  grace,  recognizes  the  reality  of  this 
state  of  victim  as  one  proper  and  essential  to  us,  loves 
the  obligations  appertaining  to  it,  and  performs  with 
exactitude  the  supernatural  actions  that  are  the  fulfilment 
of  the  duties  imposed  on  us  by  this  state  of  victim. 

Such  then  is  the  twofold  spirit  we  received  at  the  bap- 
tismal font.  It  is  the  very  spirit  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  was 
also  Himself  at  once  the  priest  and  the  victim  in  the  sac- 
rifice He  offered. 

This  is  why  St.  Peter,  addressing  Christians  in  general, 
says:  ''You  are  a  holy  priesthood  to  offer  up  spiritual 
sacrifices  acceptable  to  God  by  Jesus  Christ"  (I.  Pet.  ii.  5). 
These  spiritual  sacrifices  are  all  the  actions  which  we  per- 
form to  pay  to  God  the  homage  due  to  Him.  As  St. 
Augustine  says:  "Everything  that  we  do  for  the  purpose 
of  uniting  ourselves  to  God  in  a  hallowed  union,  directing 
our  intention  to  Him,  the  sovereign  Good,  the  source  of 
all  happiness,  is  really  and  truly  a  sacrifice.'* 

Thus  in  virtue  of  our  baptism  all  Christians  are  truly 
priests.  This  is  the  reason  why  St.  Jerome  spoke  of  that 
sacrament  as  the  ordination  of  the  laity.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  add  that  if  this  dignity  has  been  conferred  on  us, 
it  does  not  give  us  the  right  to  celebrate,  in  the  Church  of 
God,  the  sacrifice  of  the  great,  the  one  only  and  supreme 
victim  of  the  whole  world.  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  To 
assert  this  would  be  a  heresy,  since  that  privilege  belongs 
solely  to  those  who  have  received  Holy  Orders.  But  we 
are  priests  in  the  sense  that  by  corresponding  faithfully 
to  the  grace  of  our  baptism  we  sacrifice  ourselves  con- 
tinually to  the  glory  of  God,  immolating  our  unruly  pas- 


THE  RELIGIOUS  BOTH  PRIEST  AND  VICTIM.      41 

sions  by  perpetual  mortification,  and  giving  ourselves,  of 
our  own  free  will,  to  be  consumed  in  a  furnace  of  charity 
that  burns  with  ever-increasing  ardor. 

The  illustrioiis  Bishop  of  Ravenna,  St.  Peter  Chrysol- 
ogus,  extols  this  mystic  priesthood  in  these  eloquent 
words:  "St.  Paul  speaks  to  all  Christians  when  he  says: 
'  I  beseech  you  by  the  mercy  of  God  that  you  present  your 
bodies  a  living  sacrifice,  holy,  pleasing  unto  God*  (Rom. 
xii.  1).  In  thus  beseeching  all  men  the  Apostle  raises  all 
(in  a  certain  sense)  to  the  sacerdotal  dignity.  *  I  beseech 
you,'  he  says,  Ho  present  your  bodies  a  living  sacrifice.' 
O  wondrous,  unheard-of  exercise  of  the  Christian  pontifi- 
cate! Behold,  man  is  at  once  his  own  victim,  his  own 
priest.  He  no  longer  offers  to  God,  as  formerly,  a  victim 
foreign  to  himself.  It  is  he,  he  himself  and  all  that  is  in 
him,  which  he  sacrifices;  and  thus  he  alone  is  in  very  deed 
the  victim  that  is  immolated  and  the  priest  who  immolates 
it.  See  then,  O  man,  that  you  are  the  sacrifice  of  the  Most 
High,  the  priest  of  the  Most  High,  and  beware  lest  you 
lose  the  high  rank  or  slight  the  honor  accorded  to  you  by 
the  divine  power.  Take  to  yourself  the  sacerdotal  insignia 
and  offer  your  sacrifice.  Put  on  the  stole  of  sanctity; 
gird  your  loins  with  the  girdle  of  chastity.  Let  Christ 
Himself  be  the  covering  of  your  head,  His  cross  your  safe- 
guard. Take  the  censer  of  prayer,  take  the  sword  of  the 
Spirit  and  go  forth!  Your  own  heart  is  the  altar;  thus 
in  all  confidence  offer  to  God  the  sacrifice  of  yourself." 

These  are  eloquent  words,  and  they  apply  to  all  Chris- 
tians; yet  all  Christians  are  not  bound  to  observe  them 
strictly.  As  we  have  said  that  they  may  be  imperfect  as 
victims,  without  offending  almighty  God,  so  we  say  that 
they  may  be  imperfect  in  their  capacity  of  sacrificers  with- 
out opposing  His  holy  will.  They  do  in  fact  immolate 
themselves,  yet  not  completely  and  entirely;  they  offer  a 
sacrifice,  but  their  sacrifice  is  not  without  reserve:  and 
since  it  was  not  the  will  of  divine  Wisdom  to  lay  UDon 


42      THE  RELIGIOUS  BOTH  PRIEST  AND  VICTIM, 

them  all  the  obligations  of  offering  a  perfect  and  unre- 
stricted oblation  of  themselves,  those  who  do  not  go  so  far 
as  this  commit  no  sin. 

But  with  the  Religious  it  is  otherwise.  He  desires  to 
become  a  perfect  victim,  he  desires  to  become  a  perfect 
priest.  This  is  the  end  and  aim  of  his  glorious  vocation, 
the  object  of  his  aspirations  and  his  efforts.  He  knows 
this  to  be  his  duty.  During  the  time  of  his  novitiate  he 
multiplies  his  sacrifices  fervently,  lovingly.  For  him  that 
period  of  probation  is  nothing  but  a  long  and  blissful 
exercise  of  the  sacerdotal  power  conferred  on  him  in  bap- 
tism, and  which  ought,  day  by  day,  to  become  more  per- 
fect. And  when  the  memorable  event  of  his  profession 
approaches,  he  rejoices  in  the  knowledge  that  on  that 
day  he  will  be  consecrated  as  a  mystic  priest,  he  will  be 
empowered  to  accomplish  the  entire  immolation  of  him- 
self with  greater  solemnity,  more  abundant  grace,  and 
bind  himself  absolutely  and  forever  as  a  holocaust  on  the 
altar  of  burnt-offering.  After  that  happy  day,  after  that 
irrevocable  consecration,  after  that  all-embracing  immo- 
lation, everything  will  serve  as  a  sword  whereby  in  some 
way  to  renew  his  sacrifice  every  moment,  to  dedicate 
afresh  his  life  as  a  victim.  The  observance  of  the  sacred 
vows,  offering  an  almost  infinite  variety  of  occasions  for 
self-sacrifice — the  holy  Rule,  the  usages  of  the  cloister  by 
which  everything  is  provided  for,  even  the  slightest  emo- 
tions of  the  soul — the  duties  to  be  discharged,  as  well  as 
the  minutest  injunctions  to  be  obeyed,  the  trials  of  com- 
munity life,  infirmities,  sickness,  finally  death  itself — each 
and  all  of  these  will  be  a  sword  to  be  employed  in  consum- 
mating his  sacrifice,  all  will  act  as  a  devouring  flame  that 
shall  consume  the  victim  and  reduce  it  to  ashes. 

Such  are  the  dispositions  of  the  true  Religious  who  is 
faithful  to  his  vocation.  In  the  following  chapter  we 
shall  show  the  sanctity  and  excellence  of  the  state  into 
which  his  mystic  priesthood  admits  him. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  EXCELLENCE  OF  THE  SACRIFICE  WHICH  THE  MONK  OR 
NUN  OFFERS  TO  GOD. 

The  excellence  of  the  sacrifice  which  the  Religious  offers 
to  God  is  due  to  the  fact  that  he  is  himself  the  victim 
therein  offered;  thus  his  sacrifice  appears  to  us  the  most 
valuable,  the  most  honorable,  the  most  comprehensive 
that  can  be  offered.  The  wise  and  judicious  Bourdaloue 
expresses  the  same  thought.  We  will  here  take  him  as  our 
guide  and  quote  his  words. 

1.  The  sacrifice  which  the  Religious  makes  of  himself 
is  the  most  valuable  oblation.  I  term  it  the  most  valu- 
able oblation,  not  as  being  so  actually  and  intrinsically, 
but  relatively,  in  respect  to  him  who  makes  it.  Looking 
at  myself  such  as  I  am,  looking  into  the  depths  of  my 
being,  I  see  that  I  am  nothing.  I  can  do  nothing.  I  ought 
to  count  myself  as  nothing;  yet,  after  all,  this  nothing  is 
all  that  is  most  dear  to  me,  since  it  is  my  own  self,  and  to 
every  created  being  nothing  is  so  dear  to  him,  after  God, 
as  his  own  self.  Therefore,  in  giving  myself,  I  give 
the  greatest  and  best  gift  that  it  is  in  my  power  to  give. 
Abraham  once  received  the  divine  command  to  slay  his 
son  Isaac;  immediately  he  prepared  to  obey  the  behest. 
Without  hesitation,  without  a  murmur,  he  ascended  the 
mountain  indicated  to  him  by  the  divine  command,  with 
the  purpose  of  accomplishing  the  sacrifice  which  was  to 
cost  him  so  dear.  We  know  the  sequel  and  what  was  the 
reward  of  his  heroic  obedience. 

43 


44      EXCELLENCE  OF  SACRIFICE  OF  RELIGIOUS, 

Now,  without  endeavoring  to  minimize  in  any  way  a 
sacrifice  the  merit  of  which  Holy  Scripture  extols  so 
highly,  and  which  God  recompensed  so  munificently,  it  is 
nevertheless  true  that  Abraham,  in  sacrificing  Isaac,  did 
not  sacrifice  himself;  and  we  must  ever  bear  in  mind  the 
Gospel  maxim  that  there  is  no  sacrifice  Hke  that  of  laying 
down  one's  life  for  one's  friends,  of  giving  one's  self.  And 
here  it  is  that  the  Religious  has  an  inestimable  advantage. 
He  immolates  himself,  he  immolates  himself  wholly  and 
entirely.  He  immolates  his  body,  according  to  the  words 
of  St.  Augustine:  ''We  sacrifice  our  body  when  we  mor- 
tify it  by  abstinence,  if  we  do  so  w^ith  the  intention  of 
pleasing  God."  He  immolates  his  soul  also,  and  on  this 
point  the  holy  Doctor  of  the  Church  adds:  ''But  if  the 
body  of  which  the  soul  makes  use  as  a  tool,  a  slave,  is  a 
sacrifice,  provided  the  soul  offers  to  God  the  work  done 
at  His  bidding,  how  much  the  more  ought  we  to  declare 
the  soul  to  be  a  sacrifice  when  she  offers  herself  to  God,  in 
order  that,  kindled  by  love  of  Him,  she  may  strip  herself 
of  all  earthly  concupiscence,  and  be  renewed,  as  it  were, 
by  her  subjection  to  the  infinite  and  immutable  Deity." 

We  are  therefore  warranted  in  saying  that  the  sacrifice 
offered  by  the  Religious  is  the  most  precious  oblation  in 
God's  sight. 

2.  It  is  also  the  sacrifice  whereby  the  greatest  honor  ia 
rendered  to  the  majesty  of  the  Most  High.  How  is  that? 
For  this  very  reason  that  it  is  the  most  valuable  offering. 
It  is  in  fact  obvious  that  the  costly  nature  of  the  victim 
gives  its  value  to  the  sacrifice,  and  in  proportion  to  the 
worth  of  the  sacrifice  is  the  honor  thereby  rendered  to 
Him  to  whom  it  is  offered.  Under  the  Old  Law  the  fruits 
of  the  earth,  the  blood  of  bulls  and  of  goats,  were  offered 
to  God.  He  did  not  refuse  to  receive  these  oblations; 
He  was  graciously  pleased  to  accept  them;  but,  what 
think  you,  were  victim>s  such  as  those  worthy  of   Him, 


EXCELLENCE  OF  SACRIFICE  OF  RELIGIOUS.      45 

worthy  of  the  Supreme  Being?  He  Himself,  in  fact,  ex- 
pressly intimated  to  His  prophet  that  sacrifices  of  so  inad- 
equate a  nature  were  insufficient  to  satisfy  the  require- 
ments of  His  justice.  What  is  it,  then,  that  the  God  to 
whom  all  tilings  belong  desires  of  us?  That  which  He 
desires  of  us,  which  He  expects  from  us,  is  that  we  should 
be  ourselves  the  victim  of  our  own  sacrifice;  and  it  is  this 
desire,  this  expectation  which  St.  Paul  formulates,  w^hen 
he  says:  "I  beseech  you,  brethren,  by  the  mercy  of  God, 
that  you  present  your  bodies  a  living  sacrifice,  holy,  pleas- 
ing unto  God,  your  reasonable  service,"  thus  rendering  to 
Him  a  spiritual  homage. 

Platus,  in  his  work  ''On  the  Happiness  of  the  Religioufi 
Life,"  dwells  on  these  words  of  the  Apostle,  saying:  "I 
consider  that  the  nature  and  dignity  of  this  interior  holo- 
caust is  well  described  by  St.  Paul  when  he  terms  it  *a 
living  sacrifice,  holy,  pleasing  unto  God,  a  reasonable 
service.'  He  asserts  indeed  by  these  words  that  it  is  not 
flesh  and  blood  alone  which  is  offered  in  sacrifice  but 
what  is  more,  the  will  and  the  reason.  He  terms  this 
offering  a  sacrifice,  because  the  victim  must  needs  be 
slain;  but  he  adds  the  word  living,  to  express  the  fact  that 
this  death  is  not  of  a  kind  which  takes  away  life,  but  on 
the  contrary  preserves  it  in  a  wondrous  and  admirable 
manner.  Finally,  he  declares  the  sacrifice  to  be  holy  and 
pleasing  unto  God,  because  of  all  that  this  earth  can  offer, 
nothing  is  so  acceptable  to  Him  as  the  soul  which  immo- 
lates herself  for  His  glory.  And  indeed,  if  the  burnt- 
offerings  of  the  Old  Dispensation  were  of  a  sweet  odor 
before  Him,  although  only  the  flesh  of  a  heifer  or  some 
other  animal  was  offered  to  His  divine  Majesty,  how  much 
nobler,  how  much  more  meritorious,  and  consequently  of 
how  much  sweeter  an  odor  must  the  sacrifice  be  which  wc 
make  of  our  heart  and  of  our  soul!" 

Now  that  is  the  offering  made  by  the  Religious  in  his 


46      EXCELLENCE  OF  SACRIFICE  OF  RELIGIOUS. 

sacrifice  of  himself,  the  offering  which  gives  most  honor 
to  the  most  high  God. 

3.  It  is  at  the  same  time  the  most  comprehensive  obla- 
tion. The  Religious  gives  himself,  sacrifices  himself 
wholly  and  unresen^edly ;  wholly  and  entirely  in  the  pres- 
ent, at  the  moment  of  his  self-immolation — ^wholly  and 
entirely  for  all  time  to  come.  Who  can  fail  to  admire  the 
comprehensiveness  of  this  sacrifice  which  comprises  all 
that  he  who  surrenders  himself,  who  immolates  himself, 
can  call  his  own,  and  extends  to  every  moment  of  his  life. 

There  are  three  kinds  of  possessions:  the  gifts  of  for- 
tune, bodily  endowments,  and  the  powers  of  the  will.  They 
are  all  sacrificed;  the  gifts  of  fortune  by  the  vow  of  pov- 
erty— bodily  endowments  by  the  vow  of  chastity — the 
powers  of  the  will  by  the  vow  of  obedience.  And  if  the 
Religious  interprets  his  vows  not  merely  in  a  literal  and 
limited  sense,  but  in  the  spirit  and  with  the  supernatural 
dispositions  they  are  intended  to  produce  (and  at  that  he 
ought  to  aim,  as  we  shall  explain  later  on,  unless  he  would 
render  nugatory  the  engagements  he  has  entered  upon); 
if  the  Religious  is  truly  poor  both  exteriorly  and  interiorly ; 
if  he  carries  chastity  so  far  as  to  mortify  all  his  senses  and 
all  his  concupiscences;  if  his  obedience  is  implicit  and 
unreserved,  then  the  excellence,  the  sanctity,  the  sublim- 
ity of  his  self-surrender  is  beyond  the  power  of  words  to 
express.  He  is  dead  and  yet  he  lives;  he  is  dead  to  all 
that  is  human,  he  fives  to  and  for  God  alone.  "It  is  a 
strange,  a  marvelous  thing,''  says  Platus,  ''this  union  of 
real  death  with  actual  and  true  life,  a  union  which  was  not 
to  be  found  in  the  sacrifices  of  old,  but  which  is  present  in 
our  sacrifice.  As  St.  Paul  tells  us:  'You  are  dead,  and  your 
life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God' "  (Pol.  iu.  3).  Thus  death 
does  not  deprive  the  victim  of  life,  the  true,  supernatural 
life,  nor  does  that  life  prevent  his  death;  because  if  death 
did  not  intervene  the  holocaust  would  be  no  real  one, 


EXCELLENCE  OF  SACRIFICE  OF  RELIGIOUS.       4T 

and  if  his  life  were  ended,  he  could  not  belong  to  God  and 
serve  Him  in  future.  But  here  life  and  death  are  united 
and  bound  up  together,  and  thus,  as  St.  Gregory  the  Great 
remarks,  on  the  one  hand  there  is  in  very  deed  a  victim 
who  is  slain,  the  Religious  who  dies  to  the  world,  and  on 
the  other  there  is  a  living  victim,  the  self-same  individual 
who  is  thenceforth  devoted  to  the  service  of  God. 

O  happy  state,  that  of  a  Religious  dedicated,  conse- 
crated to  God  I  The  altar's  hallowed  flame  penetrates 
every  fiber  of  his  being;  there  is  nothing  left  in  him  that 
is  not  an  actuating  principle  for  the  praise  and  glory  of 
God;  one  might  almost  say  that  he  participates  already 
in  the  state  of  the  redeemed  in  heaven,  for  there,  as  the 
Fathers  tell  us,  the  elect  are  inflamed  with  the  sacred  fire 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  have  found  their  perfect  consum- 
mation as  victims  that  have  been  slain.  As  yet  the  out- 
ward semblance  is  that  of  earth,  but  the  inner  Hfe  is  all 
celestial,  all  divine. 

Moreover,  the  comprehensiveness  of  the  sacrifice  made 
by  the  Religious  is  apparent  in  that  it  not  only  embraces 
all  that  he  possesses,  but  extends  to  every  moment  of  his 
life.  *'For,"  as  Bourdaloue  says,  'Hhe  sacrifice  of  those 
who  go  into  Religion  is  not  like  ordinary  sacrifices,  which 
are  over  in  a  short  space  of  time,  and  are  ended  directly 
by  the  complete  consumption  of  the  victim.  The  Re- 
ligious, although  offered  in  sacrifice  and  slain  upon  the 
altar,  does  not  cease  to  exist,  and  may  have  a  long  life 
before  him,  and  this  signal  privilege  is  his — he  is  able  to 
renew  his  sacrifice  day  by  day.''  He  does  in  fact  renew  it 
by  every  action  he  performs,  and  this  is  so  either  because 
obedience  is  the  rule  and  actuating  motive  of  his  least  and 
slightest  work,  or  because  in  virtue  of  his  vows  all  his 
actions  may  be  regarded  as  sacred  actions;  or  again, 
because  his  state  being  fixed  by  his  profession,  and  he 
himself  bound  upon  the  altar  of  sacrifice,  he  can  not,  with- 


48      EXCELLENCE  OF  SACRIFICE  OF  RELIGIOUS. 

out  prevarication,  without  what  almost  resembles  apos- 
tasy, perform  any  acts  except  those  that  are  in  keeping 
with  his  character  of  victim;  acts,  that  is,  of  perpetual 
self-surrender.  "For,"  Bourdaloue  continues,  "to  be  a 
victim,  I  mean  a  victim  for  God,  one  whose  state  is  that 
of  a  victim,  is  to  be  no  longer  one's  own,  no  longer  to  dis- 
pose of  one's  self,  no  longer  to  have  any  right  over  one's 
self  or  to  claim  any  such  right;  it  is  to  be  solely  and  en- 
tirely in  God's  hands,  to  be  dependent  on  Him  alone,  to 
act  only  in  conformity  with  God's  commands  and  His 
adorable  will,  whatever  the  medium,  whatever  the  man- 
ner whereby  He  may  choose  to  make  them  known  to  us. 
It  is,  in  fact,  to  be  in  a  state  of  death,  and  like  one  who  is 
dead;  to  be  passive  in  the  hands  of  others;  to  be  directed, 
governed,  made  use  of  according  to  God's  good  pleasure 
and  that  of  those  whom  He  has  placed  in  authority  over 
us;  so  that  day  by  day  we  may  say  with  the  Apostle: 
*Lord,  for  Thy  sake  we  are  put  to  death  all  the  day  long;* 
at  every  moment  we  are  counted,  we  count  ourselves  'as 
sheep  for  the  slaughter'"  (Rom.  viii.  36). 

Well  indeed  for  the  Religious  if  he  can  take  this  view  of 
his  state:  I  am  a  victim  of  my  God.  This  thought  will  be 
capable  of  inspiring  him  with  fortitude  to  bear  the  yoke 
of  the  Rule,  however  irksome  it  may  be,  and  whatever  the 
effort  it  requires  of  him.  Thus  sustained,  what  is  not  the 
soul  of  the  monk  or  nun  prepared  to  undertake  and  to 
endure?  If  she  is  required  to  pray,  to  prolong  her  vigils, 
to  labor,  to  humiliate,  to  mortify  herself  at  the  cost  of  her 
rest,  her  health,  her  inclinations,  whatever,  in  short,  it  may 
cost  her,  nothing  disconcerts  her  if  she  bears  in  mind  the 
fact  that  it  is  precisely  in  these  things  that  she  is  a  vic- 
tim. And  she  is  all  the  more  impressed  by  this,  her  char- 
acter of  sacrificial  victim,  when  she  sees  how  many  un- 
happy sinners  sacrifice  themselves  to  their  ambition  and 
to  their  pleasures,  how  many  sacrifice  themselves  to  the 


EXCELLENCE  OF  SACRIFICE  OF  RELIGIOUS.      49 

world  which  tyrannizes  over  them  and  ruins  them;  while 
inasmuch  as  she  is  the  victim  of  God,  the  victim  of  char- 
ity, she  sacrifices  herself  for  duty,  for  the  perfection  which 
is  her  aim,  for  her  own  salvation,  for  the  crown  of  eternal 
fehcity  that  is  laid  up  for  her  and  to  merit  which  she 
exerts  herself  to  the  utmost. 

Such  is  the  excellence  of  our  sacrifice,  and  the  beauty, 
the  perfection  of  our  vocation;  that  excellence  and  that 
perfection  are,  however,  but  too  httle  known.  Were  they 
known  as  they  ought  to  be,  would  there  be  so  many  tepid, 
faint-hearted  souls  in  a  state  so  holy?  a  state  worthy  of 
heaven  rather  than  of  earth? 

The  subject  of  the  next  chapter  is  calculated  to  enable 
us  to  take  a  yet  higher  view  of  the  reUgious  state,  and  form 
a  more  exalted  idea  of  its  sublimity. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  FERVENT  RELIGIOUS  MERITS  TO  BE  ENTITLED  A  MARTYR. 

THE    CONNECTION    BETWEEN   THIS   APPELLATION    AND    THAT 

OP  VICTIM. 

The  martyrs  have  always  been  regarded  as  the  most 
perfect  victims;  doubtless  on  account  of  the  close  resem- 
blance between  their  death  and  the  death  of  Our  Lord, 
the  most  adorable  of  victims,  who  died  upon  the  cross  and 
shed  His  blood  out  of  love  for  man.  Origen,  one  of  the 
earliest  Fathers  of  the  Church,  dwelling  on  the  fact  that 
all  Christians  are  victims,  and  dividing  them  into  different 
classes,  puts  martyrs  in  the  first  and  foremost  rank. 
Prima  martyrum  hostia.  St.  Cyprian,  another  Father  of 
equal  celebrity,  who  lived  in  the  middle  of  the  third  cen- 
tury, addresses  inspiriting  words  to  several  bishops  and 
priests  who  were  condemned  for  the  faith  of  Christ  to 
labor  in  the  mines.  These  holy  confessors  of  the  faith 
deemed  themselves  objects  of  compassion  because  they 
were  deprived  of  the  privilege  of  offering  the  sacrifice  of 
Christ's  body  and  blood.  Writing  to  them  the  saintly 
bishop  says: 

'*No,  beloved  brethren,  do  not  imagine  that  your  piety, 
your  faith  will  suffer  by  reason  of  your  inability  any 
longer  to  celebrate  and  offer  the  divine  mysteries.  You 
do  indeed  celebrate  the  holy  sacrifice,  you  offer  to  God 
an  oblation  at  once  precious  and  glorious;  an  oblation 
which  will  contribute  largely  to  enable  you  to  obtain  an 

50 


THE  RELIGIOUS  A   MARTYR.  61 

eternal  reward,  since  Holy  Scripture  declares  and  affirms 
that  an  afflicted  spirit  is  a  sacrifice  to  God,  and  that  He 
doth  not  despise  a  contrite  and  humbled  heart.  That, 
therefore,  is  the  sacrifice  you  offer  to  God,  the  sacrifice  at 
which  you  never  cease  to  officiate  by  night  or  by  day, 
because  you  are  yourselves  the  victims  of  your  God,  and 
you  present  yourselves  before  Him  as  holy  and  spotless 
victims,  conformably  to  the  Apostle ^s  exhortation:  'I 
beseech  you,  by  the  mercy  of  God,  that  you  present  your 
bodies  a  living  sacrifice,  holy  and  pleasing  unto  God."* 

Such  is  the  language  in  which  the  holy  bishop  speaks 
to  the  martyrs.  In  his  eyes  they  are  victims  before  God, 
and  such  complete  victims  are  they,  so  pleasing  is  their 
sacrifice  to  His  divine  Majesty,  that  they  have  no  cause 
to  regret  being  prevented  from  offering  the  adorable  Vic- 
tim, Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 

Moreover  holy  Church  says  in  the  office  of  martyrs: 
''The  Lord  hath  tried  His  elect,  as  gold  in  the  furnace 
hath  He  proved  them,  and  like  burnt-offerings  hath  He 
accepted  them." 

This  constitutes  the  glory  of  the  martyrs.  They  are 
victims  offered  to  God;  and  their  holocaust  is  of  a  sweet 
savor,  like  that  of  an  eternal  burnt-offering. 

Now  Religious  are  also  victims  for  God,  and  perfect  vic- 
tims. This  is  the  first  point  in  which  they  resemble  the 
holy  martyrs.  There  is  another  and  more  striking  one 
which  we  must  consider  and  gaze  upon  with  admiration. 
But  here  the  matter  is  so  abundant,  though  the  subject  at 
first  sight  appears  sterile,  as  to  be  positively  perplexing. 
We  would  fain  quote  the  spiritual  writers,  because  it  is 
meet  to  give  place  to  the  eminent  servants  of  God,  as 
often  as  possible,  allowing  them  to  speak,  and  those  who 
are  enlightened  from  on  high  are  many  in  number.  The 
early  Fathers  of  the  desert,  the  Doctors  of  the  Church  and 
more  recent  writers   who   treat   this   subject,   not  only, 


52  THE  RELIGIOUS  A  MARTYR. 

strange  as  it  may  appear,  concur  in  asserting  that  the  fer- 
vent ReUgious  may  be  compared  to  a  martyr,  but  even 
for  the  most  part  give  the  ReUgious  precedence  over  the 
martyr.  Among  those  of  whom  we  speak  we  may  men- 
tion St.  Antony,  St.  John  CUmacus,  St.  Paphnutius,  St. 
Jerome,  St.  Augustine,  St.  Bernard,  Thomas  k  Kempis, 
Rodriguez,  Flatus,  St.  Teresa,  St.  Francis  of  Sales.* 

However,  lest  we  should,  so  to  speak,  leave  the  reader 
to  suffer  dearth  while  in  the  midst  of  plenty,  we  will  select 
a  few  of  what  in  our  opinion  appear  to  be  the  most  strik- 
ing passages  in  the  writings  of  these  holy  authors,  and 
cite  almost  in  its  entirety  the  eleventh  instruction   of 

^  Although  we  do  not  quote  St.  Bernard's  words,  we  can  not 
refrain  from  relating  an  incident  taken  from  his  life  which  illus- 
trates, far  better  than  words  could  do,  the  opinion  and  sentiments 
of  that  holy  monk.  He  happened  one  day  to  meet  a  crowd  who 
were  following  a  notorious  criminal  led  out  to  execution.  Sud- 
denly, obeying  an  inspiration  from  above,  the  saint  forced  his  way 
through  the  throng,  and  falling  at  the  feet  of  the  executioners, 
implored  them  to  deliver  their  prisoner  into  his  hands,  declaring 
that  he  would  put  him  to  death,  and  that  by  a  far  more  lingering 
and  painful  process  than  was  then  awaiting  him.  All  the  by- 
standers were  astonished  at  hearing  what  he  said,  and  their  ruler, 
Prince  Thibaud,  was  summoned,  since  he  alone  was  authorized  to 
decide  whether  this  singular  request  was  to  be  granted.  On  his 
arrival  the  prince,  thinking  that  St.  Bernard  wished  the  criminal 
to  be  pardoned,  began  to  enumerate  the  atrocious  crimes  of  which 
he  was  guilty,  and  for  which  he  was  sentenced  to  the  gallows. 
Thereupon  the  saint  answered  with  a  smile:  '*I  am  perfectly  aware 
of  all  you  tell  me,  and  it  is  precisely  on  that  account  that  I  ask  you 
to  give  the  malefactor  up  to  me.  My  purpose  is  to  make  him 
suffer  death  not  once  but  many  times  in  atonement  for  all  his  evil 
deeds."  This  being  so,  his  wish  was  complied  with;  the  criminal 
was  pardoned,  and  St.  Bernard  conducted  him  to  his  monastery  to 
make  him  a  monk.  The  sequel  proves  that  the  saint's  hope  was 
not  disappointed ;  for  thirty  years  the  man  persevered  in  the  relig- 
ious life  with  exemplary  fervor,  and  thus,  dying  daily,  he  in  reality 
suffered  a  thousand  deaths  instead  of  one. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  A  MARTYR.  53 

Thomas  k  Kempis  to  his  novices.  He  takes  as  his  text 
these  words:  Lord,  "for  Thy  sake  we  are  killed  all  day 
long;  we  are  counted  as  sheep  for  the  slaughter"  (Ps.  xliii, 
22),  and  expounds  them  as  follows: 

''Pay  great  heed,  my  dear  brethren,  to  the  words  you 
have  just  heard.  Although  they  were  uttered  by  the 
prophetic  lips  of  the  Psalmist  long  before  you  were  born, 
they  are  none  the  less  intended  to  afford  you,  at  the  pres- 
ent time,  most  salutary  instruction. 

"O  my  dear  brethren,  you  who  are  in  religion,  who 
live  under  the  rule  of  obedience,  if  you  fulfil  your  vows 
faithfully  you  are  martyrs,  or  at  any  rate  you  may  become 
martyrs  through  the  sufferings  of  each  day.  As  many 
times  as  you  devote  your  powers  to  the  performance  of 
your  daily  work,  so  many  times  a  fresh  crown  is  allotted 
you  as  the  reward  of  your  labor.  And  if,  stripped  of  all 
self-will,  you  offer  staunch  resistance  to  your  sensual 
inclinations,  God  will  give  you  abundant  consolation. 

'*A  Religious  Uving  under  obedience,  resolved  to  break 
his  own  will,  endeavoring  to  execute  the  will  of  his  Supe- 
rior in  all  humility,  will  become,  in  a  spiritual  sense,  a  real 
martyr,  although  he  is  not  called  upon  to  bare  his  neck  to 
the  executioner's  blade.  And  he  who  every  day  of  his 
life  sef^ks  to  be  perfectly  mortified,  practising  obedience 
with  simpUcity  of  heart,  imitates  the  example  of  Abra- 
ham, who  raised  no  objection  when  commanded  to  bind 
his  only  son  Isaac,  to  slay  him  and  offer  him  as  a  burnt- 
offering. 

"We  read  of  the  holy  martyrs  that  it  was  through  vari- 
cas  kinds  of  tortures  that  they  reached  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  The  option  as  to  the  sort  of  death  or  torture 
they  were  to  suffer  was  not  even  left  to  them,  yet  with 
perfect  resignation  to  the  decrees  of  divine  Providence 
they  offered  themselves  body  and  soul  to  their  Creator, 
ready  to  endure  any  and  every  kind  of  torment.     Thus, 


54  THE  RELIGIOUS  A  MARTYR. 

when  any  one  of  you  receives  from  his  Superior's  lips  a 
command  diametrically  opposed  to  his  own  will,  and 
nevertheless  prepares  to  obey  that  command  implicitly, 
from  the  moment  when  he  forces  himself  to  do  violence  to 
himself  and  suppresses,  stifles  the  murmur  that  rises  to 
his  hps,  he  sacrifices  to  God,  upon  the  altar  of  his  own 
heart,  a  victim  which  is  well  pleasing  to  Him.  Conquer- 
ing himself,  he  gains  a  triumphant  victory  over  the  enemy 
after  the  same  manner  as  did  the  martyrs. 

"You  have  often  read  in  the  Acts  of  those  glorious  con- 
fessors an  account  of  the  bodily  torments  inflicted  on 
them.  They  yielded  their  members  to  the  most  cruel 
tortures.  And  it  behooves  you  Mkewise  to  chastise  your 
body  by  fasting,  vigils,  silence,  and  manual  labor. 

"When  any  one  has  got  so  far  as  to  regard  as  sweet 
what  is  bitter,  to  accept  contumely  as  honor,  to  bear 
affliction  as  something  pleasurable,  then  indeed  does  one 
truly  share  with  the  martyrs  Our  Lord's  chalice;  then 
need  one  no  longer  dread  the  scathing  flames  of  a  future 
life;  then  may  one  entertain  the  hope,  the  firm  and  blissful 
hope,  of  being  one  day  admitted  to  the  company  of  the 
saints. 

"It  was  by  meditating  upon  the  everlasting  pains  of 
hell  that  the  martyrs  obtained  courage  to  bear  the  keenest 
torture  as  if  it  were  a  thing  of  little  moment,  and  made 
choice  of  the  strait  and  narrow  gate  through  which  to  pass 
into  the  boundless  realms  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
[And  this  is  what  fervent  Religious  do  who  are  really 
worthy  of  the  name  they  bear.] 

"Each  one,  in  his  own  Order,  may  gain  the  martyr's 
palm  by  a  devout  and  pious  life.  He  will  succeed  in  doing 
so  if  he  generously  resists  his  evil  propensities,  prays  for 
his  enemies,  displays  sufficient  constancy  to  preserve  invio- 
late the  fair  flower  of  chastity;  if,  following  Our  Lord's 
example,  he  is  obedient  even  unto  death;  if  in  everything 


THE  RELIGIOUS  A  MARTYR.  55 

he  seeks  the  good  pleasure  of  God,  and  sacrifices  his  own 
will;  if,  finally,  he  desires  always  to  have  less  rather  than 
more  of  the  good  things  of  this  world,  and  that  which  is 
needful  for  the  support  of  this  present  life. 

"In  fact  holy  poverty,  voluntary  poverty,  is  looked 
upon  in  the  light  of  a  martyrdom.  To  the  poor  in  spirit, 
even  as  to  the  martyr,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  promised, 
is  given  by  Our  Lord. 

"In  Hke  manner,  when  silence  is  imposed  upon  a  tongue 
that  loves  to  speak,  when  one  forbids  it  to  address  a  word 
either  to  one's  fellow-Religious  or  to  extemes,  it  is  equiv- 
alent to  binding  it  tightly  with  a  cord,  a  species  of  torture 
which  many  a  martyr  had  to  endure. 

"And  when  a  subject  who  is  fond  of  walking,  and  likes 
to  go  hither  and  thither,  is  forbidden  to  leave  the  monas- 
tery, when  he  is  even  told  to  remain  quietly  in  his  cell,  it 
is  the  same  as  if,  with  holy  violence,  his  feet  were  made 
fast  in  the  stocks,  another  torture  inflicted  on  the  martyrs. 

"When  a  Religious  who  is  prone  to  curiosity  closes  his 
eyes  that  he  may  not  behold  the  vain  things  of  time  and 
sense,  he  will  receive  the  same  recompense  as  the  saints 
whose  eyes  were  torn  out  by  order  of  cruel  tyrants.  And 
when  one  who  has  a  tendency  to  indolence  and  loves  to  be 
at  rest,  is  made  to  work  hard,  if  he  obeys  the  orders  given 
him  in  a  docile  spirit  he  will  receive  the  reward  given  to 
the  holy  martyrs,  whose  wrists  were  laden  with  chains 
and  their  limbs  stretched  upon  the  rack. 

"A  virtuous  and  obedient  brother  ought  therefore  to 
consider  that  his  bodily  powers  are  no  longer  his  own  to 
dispose  of  as  he  lists;  they  are  in  the  power  of  his  Supe- 
rior, to  whom  he  has  voluntarily  subjected  himself  for  the 
love  of  God,  promising  to  conform  in  everything,  even  in 
his  every  undertaking,  his  every  act,  to  whatever  his 
Superior  may  ordain  for  the  good  of  his  soul.  By  thus 
doing  he  will  rank  with  the  martyrs,  he  will  receive  the 


66  THE  RELIGIOUS  A  MARTYR. 

palm  his  patience  has  merited,  and  the  crown  of  eternal 
life  through  the  grace  of  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  who  Uves 
and  reigns  forever  and  ever.     Amen." 

Thus  the  devout  k  Kempis  exhorts  his  novices.  So  ex- 
cellent an  instruction  might  well  be  enough  for  us;  but 
we  can  not  forego  the  advantage  of  hearing  what  St. 
Francis  of  Sales  says  on  this  subject. 

The  nuns  who  formed  the  first  community  of  the  Visita^ 
tion  have  handed  down  to  us  in  writing  the  following 
words  from  the  lips  of  their  holy  founder: 

''My  desire  for  you,  my  dear  daughters,  is  that  you 
should  be  mortified;  that  you  should  live  day  and  night 
in  the  spirit  of  interior  sacrifice  and  complete  abandon- 
ment to  the  will  of  God,  which  will  serve  you  in  the  stead 
of  disciplines,  fasts,  and  hair  shirts. 

"The  martyrs  drank  the  sacred  chahce  of  the  Passion 
at  one  draught;  some  in  a  single  hour,  others  in  two  or 
three  days,  others  again  in  the  course  of  a  month.  As 
for  ourselves,  we  may  be  martyrs  and  drink  that  chalice 
not  indeed  in.  two  or  three  days,  but  throughout  the  whole 
course  of  our  life,  by  continually  mortifying  ourselves  as 
all  monks  and  nuns  do,  as  it  behooves  those  to  do  whom 
God  has  called  to  enter  religion  with  the  intention  of  bear- 
ing His  cross,  of  being  crucified  with  Him.  Is  not  this,  in 
very  deed,  the  greatest  of  martyrdoms — never  to  do  one's 
own  will,  constantly  to  submit  one's  own  judgment  to 
that  of  others,  to  flay  one's  heart,  to  empty  it  of  all  man- 
ner of  impure  affections,  of  all  that  is  not  God;  to  live  not 
in  accordance  with  one's  own  fancies  and  inclinations, 
but  in  accordance  with  reason,  in  accordance  with  the 
divine  Will?  That  is  a  martyrdom  which  is  all  the  more 
meritorious  because  it  is  a  slow,  a  lifelong  mart3Tdom. 
But  if  we  persevere,  and  are  faithful  to  our  vocation,  when 
it  is  ended  we  shall  obtain  a  glorious  crown,  after  having 
crucified  ourselves  with  Our  Lord  by  the  unflinching  supr 


THE  RELIGIOUS  A  MARTYR.  57 

pression  of  all  within  ourselves  which  might  be  displeas- 
ing in  His  sight;  and  in  order  to  stimulate  us  to  this,  to 
encourage  us  in  it,  He  vouchsafes  to  prove  to  us  that  He 
died  for  love  of  us.  While  still  hanging  on  the  cross,  He 
permitted  a  soldier  to  wound  His  side  with  a  spear,  and 
pierce  His  Sacred  Heart,  so  that  it  might  be  seen  that  He 
was  really  dead,  and  that  He  died  of  love,  the  love  of  His 
Sacred  Heart  for  man." 

Such  are  St.  Francis'  words.  We  do  not  know  of  any 
other  founder  of  an  Order  who  laid  so  much  stress  on  the 
necessity  of  life  as  a  victim  in  the  religious  state,  as  did 
the  saintly  Founder  of  the  Visitation.  His  spiritual 
daughters  know  this;  and  they  do  not  forget  that  the 
subject  which  he  proposed  in  the  Book  of  Customs  for 
their  meditation  on  the  eve  of  their  profession  is  this: 
^'The  Flaying  AHve  of  the  Victim."  What  rigor  this  dis- 
plays, united  to  incomparable  gentleness  I 


CHAPTER  VI. 

A    CLOSER    CONSIDERATION    OF    THE    TITLE    OP    RELIGIOUS. 
THE     CONNECTION     BETWEEN    THIS     TITLE     AND     THAT     OF 

VICTIM. 

The  name  and  title  of  Religious  is  given  to  one  who  is 
specially  pledged  to  the  practise  of  the  virtue  of  religion. 

Religion^  in  the  sense  in  which  it  is  here  used,  may  be 
regarded  from  two  several  points  of  view,  that  is  to  say, 
either  in  particular,  as  a  virtue  distinct  from  the  other 
virtues,  or  in  general,  as  a  virtue  comprising  all  other 
virtues. 

Inasmuch  as  it  is  a  particular  virtue,  it  is  thus  defined 
by  St.  Thomas:  Religion  is  an  interior  and  supernatural 
habit  of  the  soul  which  inclines  us  to  render  to  God  the 
worship  due  to  Him. 

Regarded  as  a  general  virtue,  it  comprises  the  theolog- 
ical and  at  the  same  time  the  moral  virtues.  The  teach- 
ing of  the  Angelic  Doctor  is  expressed  in  these  precise 
terms:  "Religion  is  a  profession  of  faith,  hope,  and  char- 
ity, by  means  of  which  man  is  brought  primarily  into 
relationship  with  God;  and  it  calls  into  exercise  all  the 
other  virtues,  such  as  mercy  and  temperance.  According 
to  these  words  of  St.  James:  'Religion  clean  and  undefiled 
before  God  and  the  Father  is  this:  to  visit  the  fatherless 
and  widows  in  their  tribulation,  and  to  keep  one's  self 
unspotted  from  this  world'"  (James  i.  27). 

Religion,  understood  in  this  latter  sense,  takes  in  the 

68' 


THE  TITLE  OF  RELIGIOUS.  59 

whole  Christian  life,  either  because  it  directs  the  intention 
of  all  moral  virtue  to  God,  its  rightful  end;  or  because  the 
acts  proper  to  religion,  the  worship  of  God  in  truth  and 
verity,  necessitate  many  fundamental  virtues  such  as 
faith,  hope,  charity,  humility,  etc. 

Hence  it  results,  as  a  natural  consequence,  that  every 
Christian  really  worthy  of  the  name,  that  is  to  say,  one 
who  conscientiously  keeps  the  commandments,  and  who, 
therefore,  practises  the  Christian  virtues  in  the  degree 
required  of  him,  may  justly  be  called  a  Religious.  He 
has,  in  all  truth  and  justice,  every  right  to  this  title.  It 
seems,  however,  more  natural  to  apply  this  appellation 
exclusively  to  those  persons  who  aim  at  the  attainment  of 
Christian  perfection.  As  St.  Thomas  wisely  remarks:  "If 
anything  may  be  predicated  of  many  persons,  those  indi- 
viduals have  the  principal  claim  to  it  who  possess  it  in 
the  highest  degree,  or  who  practise  it  in  its  perfection." 

This  remark  clearly  demonstrates  how  rightly  the 
name  of  Religious  is  given  to  those  persons  who  are  so 
happy  as  to  have  consecrated  themselves  to  God  in  an 
Order  or  Congregation  approved  by  the  Church;  it  also 
explains  why  entering  an  Order  or  Congregation  thus 
approved  is  termed  ''going  into  religion."  Thus  we  say 
of  the  member  of  an  Order,  he  or  she  has  been  so  many 
years  in  reUgion,  his  or  her  name  in  rehgion  is  this  or 
that. 

But  if  we  keep  to  the  strict  sense  of  the  word  as  denot- 
ing a  special  and  distinct  virtue,  we  shall  find  another 
reason,  and  a  more  weighty  one,  perhaps,  for  acknowl- 
edging that  persons  who  are  consecrated  to  God  by  vows 
may  legitimately  be  entitled  Religious. 

Religion,  as  we  have  already  said,  is  the  virtue  that 
induces  us  to  pay  to  God  the  homage  due  to  Him.  Now 
there  is  one  act  which,  as  Father  de  Condren  asserts,  cor^ 
Tesponds  to  all  that  God  is;  and  that  is  the  act  of  sacrifice. 


60  THE  TITLE  OF  RELIGIOUS. 

Therefore  sacrifice  is  preeminently  the  act  appertaining 
to  the  virtue  of  religion.  "By  sacrifice,"  says  the  illustri- 
ous General  of  the  Oratorians,  *'we  acknowledge  God  as 
the  Supreme  Being.  We  acknowledge  Him,  in  His  essen- 
tial and  incomprehensible  grandeur  and  perfection,  as 
being  in  very  truth  above  all  adoration,  all  love.''  In 
this  consists  the  sublimity,  the  perfection  of  the  act  of 
sacrifice;  consequently  it  comprises  in  itself  all  the  duty 
man  owes  to  God.  For  this  reason  Our  Lord,  when  He 
came  among  us  to  be  Our  Redeemer,  Our  Pattern,  was 
above  all  and  before  all  a  living  sacrifice  before  His  heav- 
enly Father — that  is  to  say,  a  victim  and  an  eternal  holo- 
caust to  His  glory. 

Now,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  foregoing  pages,  every 
soul  consecrated  to  God  is  also,  in  union  with  Our  Lord,  a 
victim,  a  holocaust  before  God.  "You  are  now,"  St. 
Francis  of  Sales  said  to  a  young  nun  after  her  profession 
in  the  Visitation,  "you  are  now  laid  upon  the  sacred  altar 
to  be  consumed  as  a  whole  burnt-offering." 

Consequently,  in  this  state,  and  by  the  dispositions  be- 
fitting this  state,  the  soul  consecrated  to  God  by  vows 
truly  fulfils,  in  so  far  as  in  her  lies,  all  the  duties  of  the 
virtue  of  religion.  Thus  her  rightful  name,  the  title 
that  best  answers  to  her  state  and  vocation,  is  the  name, 
the  title  of  Religious. 

When  this  is  once  thoroughly  apprehended,  it  is  easy 
to  understand  why  the  Church  has  ordained  that  the 
recital  of  the  Breviary  should  be  the  primary,  the  chief, 
one  may  almost  say  the  sole  task  binding  on  the  Religious. 
Of  this  the  very  name  of  "Office"  given  to  that  sacred 
exercise  is  sufficient  proof.  It  indicates  that  the  recital 
of  the  Breviary  is  the  first  and  foremost  occupation  of  the 
Religious,  and  that  whatever  may  be  the  spirit  of  the 
Order  or  Institute,  whatever  are  its  Rules,  whatever  the 
extent  and  perfection  of  the  vows  its  members  take,  there 


THE  TITLE  OF  RELIGIOUS,  61 

is  one  rule,  one  obligation,  which  is  essential  to  every 
Order  and  common  to  all  Religious:  the  rule,  the  obliga- 
tion of  reciting  the  Divine  Office. 

It  is  indisputably  true  that  the  performance  of  that 
sacred  duty  does  not  constitute  the  religious  state;  it  is 
the  profession  which  does  that.  Hence  it  is  also  true  that 
an  Institute  may  really  be  a  religious  Institute  although 
this  particular  obligation  does  not  form  part  of  its  Rule. 
It  is,  however,  an  obligation  so  thoroughly  in  keeping  with 
the  essential  spirit  of  every  Order,  that  one  can  hardly 
imagine  it  possible  that  it  should  not  be  in  force  in  every 
religious  Congregation  under  one  form  or  another.  The 
Canonical  Hours,  or  Greater  Office,  is  the  one  suited  for 
contemplative  Orders;  and  certainly  there  is  not  a  single 
one  of  those  Orders,  whether  of  ancient  or  more  recent 
origin,  in  which  it  is  not  recited  in  Choir.  The  Orders  or 
Congregations  who  engage  in  active  occupations,  such  as 
the  education  of  the  young,  nursing  the  sick,  etc.,  have 
less  time  to  devote  to  reciting  the  Breviary,  and  conse- 
quently they  are  dispensed  from  it.  Yet  they  have  not 
failed  to  adopt  in  its  place  the  Little  Office  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  which  we  are  fully  warranted  in  calling  an  Office, 
since  it  is  liturgical,  and  has  all  the  parts  of  the  Canonical 
Office  with  the  same  rubrics.^ 

Let  us  listen  to  Cardinal  B^ruUe,  who  so  greatly  aided 
the  Carmelite  nuns  to  establish  themselves  in  France. 
Speaking  to  those  worthy  daughters  of  St.  Teresa  about 
the  excellence  of  the  Divine  Office,  and  the  connection  be- 
tween the  practise  of  reciting  it  and  the  character  of  vic- 

^  Some  Congregations  recite  the  Rosary.  We  consider  that  this 
may  be  regarded  as  replacing,  in  the  intention  of  the  Church,  the 
Canonical  Office  or  the  Office  of  Our  Lady;  on  that  account  it  is 
desirable  that  it  should  be  recited  in  Latin,  not  in  the  vernacular, 
agreeably  to  the  Book  Superni,  issued  by  Pope  Pius  V.  relative  to 
the  Office  of  the  Blessed  Virgin. 


62  THE   TITLE  OF  RELIGIOUS. 

tim,  he  says:  "The  Choir  is  the  most  important,  most 
sacred  portion  of  your  convent;  it  is  there  you  spend  the 
greatest  part  of  your  time,  and  you  are  employed  when 
there  in  your  principal  undertaking,  the  most  elevated  of 
your  actions,  the  most  delightful  of  your  occupations. 

"There  you  give  your  whole  attention  to  the  Divine 
Office,  which  belongs  to  you  of  right  as  a  holy  people  con- 
secrated unto  God,  as  victims  slain  and  yet  living.  This 
Office  is  divine,  it  is  called  divine,  for  it  is  ordained  by 
divine  authority  and  ought  to  be  celebrated  divinely — 
that  is  to  say,  by  souls  who  are  divinized,  and  the  object 
of  its  recital  is  the  glory  of  the  divine  Majesty  of  God 
Himself.  Therefore  perform  your  task  with  perfect  dis- 
positions, dispositions  worthy  of  yoiu-  vocation,  worthy  of 
the  Office  itself,  worthy  of  the  sovereign  Majesty  of  the 
God  to  whom  you  render  this  tribute  of  praise,  a  tribute 
due  from  human  nature  to  its  God  and  its  Saviour.  And 
as  in  the  human  body  the  heart  and  the  tongue  stand  in 
close  relationship  to  each  other  in  the  order  of  nature, 
80  in  the  order  of  grace  the  same  harmony  ought  to  exist 
between  them.  The  heart  ought  to  feel  what  the  tongue 
formulates,  and  fix  its  thoughts  on  Him  to  whom  the 
words  uttered  are  addressed.  Mind  and  body  are  both 
employed  in  this  act,  for  it  is  offered  to  the  God  who 
created  the  mind  and  fashioned  the  body  with  His  own 
hands.  It  is,  moreover,  the  sacrifice  of  praise  which  the 
Holy  Spirit  calls  on  us  to  offer  in  the  words:  *  Offer  to 
God  the  sacrifice  of  praise'  (Psalm  xix.  14).  It  is  the 
perpetual  sacrifice  to  which  the  Apostle  refers  when  he 
exhorts  us:  *Let  us  offer  the  sacrifice  of  praise  always  to 
God'  (Heb.  xiii.  15).  It  is  the  sacrifice  of  which  you 
yourselves  are  the  victims,  since  you  reduce  yourselves 
to  the  state  of  a  burnt-offering  by  the  abnegation  of  self, 
and  to  the  state  of  a  sacrifice  of  thanksgiving  by  your 
lifelong  vocation,  and  by  a  general  desire  that  there  should 


THE   TITLE  OF  RELIGIOUS.  63 

be  nothing  in  you  which  does  not  tend  to  the  praise  and 
glory  of  God.  It  is  a  sacrifice  of  incense  and  of  myrrh, 
incense  as  regards  the  mind,  myrrh  as  regards  the  body. 
In  it  mind  and  body  are  the  oblation  offered,  by  the  ob- 
livion of  all  earthly  things,  by  the  elevation  of  your  whole 
self  to  God,  by  fixing  your  thoughts  on  God,  and  eliminat- 
ing all  but  divine  affections,  celestial  aspirations.'' 

So  far  the  pious  Cardinal.  To  his  mind  the  Religious, 
when  he  recites  his  Office  as  he  ought,  is  truly  a  whole 
burnt-offering  before  God,  fulfilling  all  the  duties  which 
are  due  to  the  Creator  on  our  part.  He  is  really  a  burnt- 
offering,  because  in  this  one  act  he  attains  all  the  ends 
of  a  sacrifice,  which  are:  adoration,  thanksgiving,  suppli- 
cation, expiation.  Each  and  all  of  these  acts  are  to  be 
found  in  the  Divine  Office,  in  the  psalms  and  canticles, 
the  versicles,  antiphons,  and  prayers.  He  may  indeed  say 
with  the  prophet  Osee  that  he  "will  render  the  calves  of 
our  lips"  (Osee  xiv.  3);  with  David  that  he  continually 
"offers  to  Him  the  sacrifice  of  praise"  (Psalm  cxv.  17) ;  thus 
complying  with  the  exhortation  of  St.  Paul:  "Let  us  offer 
the  sacrifice  of  praise  always  to  God,  that  is  to  say,  the 
fruit  of  lips  confessing  His  name"  (Heb.  xiii.  15). 

Justly,  therefore,  may  we  term  the  soul  who  is  conse- 
crated to  God  a  Religious,  that  is,  according  to  the  ety- 
mology of  the  word,  one  who  is  bound  anew,  doubly 
bound  to  God.  That  soul  was  bound,  as  we  all  were,  to 
God  in  baptism;  but  by  her  profession  she  is  bound  to 
God,  bound  to  worship  Him,  to  praise  Him,  to  glorify 
Him  in  a  fresh  and  very  special  manner.  Many  writers 
have  asserted  that  those  individuals  who  take  the  vows  of 
religion  are  so  many  temples  dedicated  to  the  Most  High; 
and  Platus,  speaking  on  this  subject,  points  out  that  as 
sacrifices  are  offered  to  God  in  a  temple,  so  the  Religious 
daily  offers  up  to  Heaven  a  great  number  of  sacrifices, 
such  as   hymns   of   praise,   thanksgivings,  loving   ejacu- 


64  THE   TITLE  OF  RELIGIOUS. 

lations,  acts  of  contrition,  pious  aspirations  of  all  kinds. 
What  a  glorious  vocation  is  his  I  How  great  an  honor 
God  confers  on  him  in  calling  him  to  this  holy,  this  special 
service!  His  functions,  his  oiSice  do  in  very  truth  apper- 
tain more  to  heaven  than  to  earth.  In  these,  even  in 
this  exile,  he  enters  on  what  will  be  his  eternal  employ- 
ment in  heaven,  where  all  the  angels  and  saints  are  vic- 
tims of  praise  unceasingly  offered  up  to  God,  immolated 
for  His  love,  absorbed  into  His  unity.  ^'Blessed,"  the 
Psalmist  says,  "are  they  that  dwell  in  Thy  house,  O  Lord; 
they  shall  praise  Thee  forever  and  ever'*  (Psalm  Ixxxiii. 
5).  And  to  this  St.  Augustine  adds:  *' There  we  shall 
all  praise  Our  God;  we  shall  all  be  one  in  one  Christ  to 
the  glory  of  the  one  God."  ^ 

*  St.  Augustine   in   Psalm  cxlvii. — Ibi  laudabimus  omnes;  unus 
in  uno  ad  unum  erimus. 


CHAPTER  Vn. 

THE  SOUL  OF  THE  RELIGIOUS  IS  THE  TRUE  SPOUSE  OF  JESUS 

CHRIST;     AND   IT    IS    IN    HER   SACRIFICE   OF  HERSELF  THAT 

HER  UNION  WITH  HIM  IS  EFFECTED. 

The  title  of  spouse  is  indisputably  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  that  can  be  given  to  the  Religious,  because  it 
expresses  the  wondrous  union  that  exists  between  Our 
Lord  and  the  devout  soul.  We  shall  proceed  to  show 
how  perfectly  correct  and  legitimate  that  title  is,  and 
the  connection  between  the  appellation  of  spouse  and 
that  of  victim. 

St.  Paul,  writing  to  the  Corinthians,  says:  "I  am  jeal- 
ous of  you  with  the  jealousy  of  God,  for  I  have  espoused 
you  to  one  husband  that  I  may  present  you  as  a  chaste 
virgin  to  Chrisf  (II.  Cor.  xi.  2).  How  beautiful  are  those 
words,  and  how  full  of  mystery!  The  biblical  exegetes 
expound  them  thus:  '^Behold  the  singular  nobility  of 
the  Christian  soul.  By  faith,  by  baptism,  she  becomes 
the  mystic  spouse  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God.  The 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  the  dowry  of  this  bride,  and  as  her 
bridegroom  is  a  king,  the  dignity  of  a  queen  is  in  store  for 
her.  The  nuptials  are  prepared  for  her  here  below  by  faith, 
hope,  and  charity;  but  the  union  will  receive  its  final 
consummation  in  heaven,  through  the  beatific  vision  of 
God,  through  love  made  perfect.'' 

Thus  Our  Lord  is  the  true  Bridegroom,  and  chaste  and 
faithful  souls  are  His  true  spouses.    He  is  their  Consort, 

65 


66     THE  RELIGIOUS  SOUL  A  SPOUSE  OF  CHRIST. 

as  He  is  their  Father,  their  Brother,  their  Friend,  their 
King,  In  Him  all  social  and  domestic  relations  have 
their  highest  type  and  pattern.  So  that,  as  there  are 
earthly  husbands,  so  Jesus  is  our  Husband,  and  the  vast 
distance  which  separates  the  creature  from  his  Creator  is 
the  measure  of  the  difference  between  that  title  when 
apphed  to  man  and  when  applied  to  Christ.  That  title, 
borne  by  Him,  is  real  and  true;  borne  by  man,  it  is  a  mere 
shadow  of  the  reaUty.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the 
designation  of  spouse  which  is  given  to  chaste  souls.  As 
far  as  the  heavens  are  above  the  earth,  so  far  are  those 
souls,  in  virtue  of  this  glorious  character,  raised  above  the 
spouses  of  this  world,  however  high  their  rank,  be  it  that 
of  princesses. 

Moreover,  how  touching  are  the  eulogiums  pronounced 
by  the  Fathers  and  holy  Doctors  of  the  Church  on  the 
union  of  Christ  with  the  faithful  soul.  As  we  peruse  them 
we  are  filled  with  astonishment,  with  delight.  Origen, 
St.  Ambrose,  St.  Augustine,  St.  Jerome,  St.  Basil,  St. 
Bernard,  St.  Laurence  Justinian,  each  and  all  of  these 
have  in  their  turn  extolled  the  marvelous  condescension 
of  the  Eternal  Word  toward  His  lowly  creatures,  and 
the  ineffable  happiness  He  confers  on  them.  St.  Ber- 
nard takes  this  subject  as  the  theme  of  whole  discourses, 
and  St.  Laurence  Justinian  composed  an  entire  treatise, 
thus  entitled:  "On  the  Mystic  and  Chaste  Nuptials  of 
the  Eternal  Word  with  the  Soul  of  Man."  This  need  not 
surprise  us,  however,  since,  as  Bossuet  declared,  the  inti- 
mate relations  between  God  and  the  soul  find  expression 
in  all  the  books  of  Holy  Scripture,  symbolized  by  the 
union  of  husband  and  wife. 

The  same  writer  says  elsewhere:  "The  name  of  spouse 
is  the  sweetest  name  wherewith  Jesus  Christ  can  ennoble 
the  souls  whom  He  elevates  to  His  sacred  love ;  nor  could 
He  choose  a  name  for  Himself  better  fitted  than  that  of 


THE  RELIGIOUS  SOUL  A  SPOUSE  OF  CHRIST,     67 

husband  to  express  His  love  for  the  soul,  and  the  recip- 
rocal love  she  ought  to  have  for  Him." 

Happy  then,  a  thousand  times  happy  is  the  soul  who 
by  the  innocence  of  her  life  justly  merits  that  title  of 
spouse  of  Christ. 

Among  the  souls  thus  privileged,  the  Religious  occupy 
the  foremost  rank.  Such  is  the  opinion  of  all  the  holy 
Doctors.  St.  Bernard  says  expressly:  "Although  the 
souls  of  all  the  just  are  the  spouses  of  the  Lord,  yet  the 
virgins  consecrated  to  God  are  so  in  a  very  special  sense." 
A  Father  of  more  ancient  date,  St.  Fulgentius,  gives  this 
name  of  spouse  preeminently  to  consecrated  virgins. 
Finally,  let  us  quote  the  beautiful  and  significant  words  of 
St.  Augustine:  "Those  who  consecrate  their  virginity  to 
God  by  vow  are  thereby  on  the  one  hand  raised  to  a  high 
position  of  honor  and  dignity  in  the  Church,  and  on  the 
other  hand  they  are  not  without  their  bridal  hour,  since 
they  participate  in  the  espousals  of  the  whole  Church, 
whose  Bridegroom  is  Christ." 

But  without  seeking  any  further  confirmation  from  the 
holy  Doctors  and  Fathers,  we  will  keep  to  what  we  find 
in  the  Roman  Pontifical  for  the  ceremony  of  the  consecra- 
tion of  virgins.  Nothing  is  more  touching,  nothing  ap- 
peals more  powerfully  to  our  admiration  than  this  cere- 
mony, of  which  we  will  follow  the  various  stages. 

The  priest  thus  addresses  the  officiating  bishop:  "Right 
Rev.  Father,  the  holy  Catholic  Church,  our  Mother,  re- 
quests that  you  will  deign  to  bless  these  virgins  here  pres- 
ent, to  consecrate  them,  and  betroth  them  to  Our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  most  high  God."  The  bishop 
replies:  "With  the  help  of  God,  Our  Lord  and  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ,  we  elect  these  virgins  here  present,  to  bless 
them,  consecrate  them,  and  betroth  them  to  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord,  the  Son  of  the  most  high  God." 

Then  the  virgins  are  called  upon  to  come  forward,  and 


68     THE  RELIGIOUS  SOUL  A  SPOUSE  OF  CHRIST. 

the  bishop  says  to  them:  "Do  you  desire  to  be  blessed, 
consecrated,  and  affianced  to  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Son  of  the  most  high  God?"  The  virgins  answer:  "That 
is  our  desire."  The  religious  habits,  the  veils  and  wreaths 
are  then  blessed,  and  a  preface  is  chanted  from  which  we 
give  a  few  extracts: 

"  Among  the  virtues  of  which  Thou  art  the  Author,  O 
Lord,  in  the  children  whom  Thou  hast  begotten  not  of 
blood  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  but  of  Thy  spirit.  Thou 
hast  of  Thine  inexhaustible  bounty  infused  into  some  souls 
a  gift  of  a  higher  character.  Without  lessening  in  any 
wise  the  dignity  wherewith  Thou  hast  endowed  the  mar- 
riage bond,  and  while  maintaining  in  its  integrity  the 
benediction  Thou  gavest  from  the  first  to  that  hallowed 
union.  Thou  hast  ordained  that  there  should  be  souls  of  a 
higher  type,  who,  renouncing  all  desire  for  the  bond  Thou 
didst  institute  between  man  and  woman,  should  be  called 
to  the  reaHzation  of  the  mystery  represented  by  that 
bond;  who,  foregoing  voluntarily  all  earthly  nuptials, 
should  aspire  with  all  the  fervor  of  their  love  to  the  divine 
alliance  of  which  marriage  on  earth  is  a  figure.  Those 
who  profess  holy  virginity  know  from  whom  that  virtue 
proceeds,  and  eager  to  imitate  the  purity  of  the  angels, 
they  desire  no  other  bridegroom  than  Him  who  is  at  the 
same  time  the  Son  of  an  ever- Virgin  Mother  and  the 
Spouse  of  those  who  for  His  sake  take  the  vow  of  perpetual 
chastity." 

This  idea  pervades  the  whole  remainder  of  the  cere- 
monial. When  the  bishop  gives  the  veil,  he  says  to  the 
aspirant:  "Receive  this  holy  veil,  and  know  that  from 
henceforth  and  forever  thou  art  the  true  spouse  of  Jesus 
Christ."  When  he  puts  the  ring  on  the  finger  of  each 
consecrated  virgin,  he  says:  "Herewith  I  betroth  thee  as 
the  spouse  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  most  high  God. 
Wherefore  receive  the  ring  of  fidelity,  the  seal  of  the  Holy 


THE  RELIGIOUS  SOUL  A  SPOUSE  OF  CHRIST.     69 

Spirit,  so  that  henceforward  thou  mayst  rightly  be  called 
the  spouse  of  God."  And  the  virgin  responds  by  chanting 
this  canticle:  "I  am  the  Bride  of  Him  whom  the  angels 
serve,  whose  beauty  the  sun  and  moon  gaze  upon  with 
admiring  wonder.  The  Lord  Jesus  has  put  His  ring  on  my 
finger,  He  has  crowned  me  in  the  character  of  His  spouse. '* 

Does  not  this  sound  in  our  ears  as  an  echo  of  the  heav- 
enly canticles?  Certainly  there  is  nothing  earthly  about 
it.  When  St.  Gertrude  pondered  upon  this  divine  mystery, 
when  she  recalled  to  mind  the  favor  conferred  upon  her, 
the  emotion  that  welled  up  in  her  soul  found  a  vent  in 
impassioned  language. 

^'0  my  Jesus,"  she  exclaimed,  "Thou  who  art  the 
flower,  the  fruit  of  the  virginal  purity  of  Thy  Mother,  my 
rich  inheritance  and  my  royal  dowry!  Thou  who  hast 
adorned  me  beforehand  with  a  ring,  the  pledge  of  fidelity, 
impress  upon  me  the  seal  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  make  me 
what  I  ought  to  be  for  Thee,  O  immortal  Lily,  who  art  my 
fairest,  most  precious  flower.  Bind  me  to  Thyself  with  a 
love  so  ardent,  that  in  my  longing  to  be  united  to  Thee  I 
may  thirst  for  death;  grant  that  the  alUance  contracted 
between  Thee  and  me  may  be  of  so  close  a  nature  that  my 
heart  may  be  taken  from  me,  to  be  no  more  in  my  posses- 
sion but  in  Thine,  made  one  with  Thee  in  the  indissoluble 
union  of  love. 

"0  Son  of  God,  my  love,  my  love!  Make  for  me  a  path 
which  leads  to  Thee,  the  path  of  fair  love.  Drawn  toward 
Thee  by  the  force  of  a  chaste  affection,  rivetted  to  Thee 
by  the  sweet  nuptial  bond,  I  will  follow  Thee  whitherso- 
ever Thou  goest,  to  the  lofty  heights  where  Thou  reignest 
supreme,  and  whither  Thou  dost  lead  those  resplendent 
choirs  composed  of  myriads  of  virgins  arrayed  in  gar- 
ments of  snowy  whiteness,  who  with  rapturous  joy  chant 
the  dulcet  song  of  their  eternal  espousals.  O  Jesus,  one 
day  grant  me  a  place  in  the  ranks  of  that  virginal  band. 


70     THE  RELIGIOUS  SOUL  A  SPOUSE  OF  CHRIST. 

There  I  shall  quench  my  thirst  at  the  fount  which  springs 
from  Thy  divine  love;  I  shall  be  satiated  with  the  enjoy- 
ment of  Thine  ineffable  sweetness.  Amen.  Amen.  May 
every  created  being  echo  this  cry!'' 

Such  are  the  utterances,  the  ecsta^c  utterances  of  this 
saintly  virgin.  They  make  known  to  us  her  joy,  her  grati- 
tude, her  hopes,  and  moreover  acquaint  us  with  the  final, 
the  supreme  end  of  the  union  of  the  earthly  with  the 
heavenly  Spouse,  an  end  infinitely  desirable  and  delightful. 
But  we  who  listen  to  this  celestial  song  are  still  exiles  sigh- 
ing in  this  valley  of  tears,  and  we  know  full  well  that  if 
this  union  is  consummated  forever  in  the  unclouded  vision 
of  the  divine  Spouse,  and  the  eternal  bliss  of  His  presence, 
the  preparation  for  it  here  below  is  accomplished  in  priva- 
tions, sufferings,  and  death.  It  is  St.  Francis  of  Sales, 
whose  loving  soul  could  so  well  follow  the  illustrious  Ger- 
trude when  she  winged  her  swift  and  blissful  flight  to  her 
Beloved,  it  is  that  gentle  saint,  I  say,  who  recalls  us  to  the 
realities  of  our  present  life,  and  reminds  us  of  the  condi- 
tions indispensable  to  this  divine  union. 

*'The  soul  of  the  Religious,"  he  says,  ''can  not  be  the 
true  spouse  of  our  glorified  Lord  unless  she  has  been  in  this 
life  the  spouse  of  our  crucified  Lord;  He  will  only  place 
the  golden  crown  on  the  brow  of  those  who  have  previ- 
ously worn  the  crown  of  thorns.  For  the  cloister  is  a 
Calvary  where  the  lovers  of  the  cross  are  to  be  found,  and 
where  they  gladly  dwell.'* 

The  good  Bishop  of  Geneva's  remark  brings  us  back  to 
our  main  subject:  The  soul  that  is  the  perfect  spouse  of 
Jesus  Christ  must  be  His  perfect  victim  also;  and  here  we 
may  aptly  again  quote  the  beautiful  saying  of  the  Ven. 
Mother  Emilie  de  Rodat:  "It  is  in  His  character  of  a  vic- 
tim that  Jesus  is  our  Pattern,  and  it  is  only  by  walking  ir 
the  footsteps  of  Him  who  sacrificed  Himself  for  our  sake 
that  we  can  become  His  true  spouses." 


THE  RELIGIOUS  SOUL  A  SPOUSE  OF  CHRIST,     71 

To  be  united  to  Our  Lord  at  the  nuptial  altar  and  at  the 
sacrificial  altar  is  one  and  the  same  thing.  And  this  is 
the  reason  why:  Because  the  union  of  husband  and  wife 
is  the  closest  of  all  unions.  Now,  above  all  and  before  all 
else,  Our  Lord  is  a  victim.  Tliis  He  was  throughout  His 
whole  life,  without  ceasing  to  immolate  Himself  for  a 
single  moment;  and  this  He  is,  and  will  continue  to  be 
in  the  adorable  Sacrament  of  the  Altar  until  the  con- 
summation of  ages.  The  state  of  a  victim  is  His  proper, 
His  essential  state.  Consequently  the  soul  of  the  Relig- 
ious, the  spouse  of  that  divine  Victim,  is  also  a  victim; 
that  state  is  also  her  proper,  her  essential  state.  The 
more  she  strives  to  merit  the  name  of  spouse,  the  more 
the  alliance  she  has  contracted  is  brought  to  completion, 
the  more  completely  does  the  soul  who  participates  in  that 
union  become  a  victim.  And  in  like  manner  the  more 
progress  she  makes  in  the  way  of  self-surrender,  the  more 
she  strives  to  become  perfect  in  her  character  of  victim, 
the  more  perfect  she  becomes  in  her  character  of  spouse. 
Once  again  I  repeat,  to  be  a  spouse  and  to  be  a  victim  is 
one  and  the  selfsame  thing. 

St.  Jerome  seems  to  express  the  same  thought  when  he 
says:  "Virginity  is  the  holocaust  offered  to  Christ;  and 
I  add  what  is  perhaps  new  to  some:  chastity  is  the  burnt- 
offering,  the  sacrifice  in  which  she  herself  offers  her  own 
self."  Yes,  indeed,  the  virgin  offers  up  herself,  she  is  her 
own  priest  and  the  sacrificer  of  herself.  On  the  day  of 
her  profession  she  offers  up  hereelf  and  solemnly  immolates 
herself,  and  on  that  same  day  Our  Lord  takes  her  for  His 
bride.  She  presents  herself  to  Him  as  a  victim;  Jesus 
gives  Himself  to  her  as  her  spouse.  And,  desirous  in  as 
far  as  in  her  lies  to  merit  that  title,  and  conscious  that  Our 
Lord  will  give  it  to  her  on  that  triumphant  day,  she  wishes 
to  do  as  earthly  brides  do,  who  forsake  all  and  give  up  all, 
relatives,   friends,   country,   everything  in   a  v/ord   mo>:t 


72     THE  RELIGIOUS  SOUL  A  SPOUSE  OF  CHRIST. 

dear  to  them;  like  them  she  wishes  to  abandon  all,  to 
sacrifice  all;  and  for  her  to  sacrifice  all  is  not  only  to  sac- 
rifice what  is  external  to  herself,  she  must  immolate  her 
own  self.  Let  us  hear  what  St.  Bernard  says  on  this 
point:  "Since  this  union  of  the  soul  with  Jesus  Christ 
ought  to  be  something  quite  superior  to  all  earthly  alliances, 
God  has  established  a  law  proportioned  to  the  grandeur 
and  dignity  of  that  union.  And  what  is  that  law?  It  is 
this:  The  bride  of  an  earthly  bridegroom  is  obhged  for 
his  sake  to  leave  her  father  and  mother;  the  bride  of  the 
heavenly  Bridegroom,  Jesus  Christ,  must,  so  God  has 
decreed,  leave  herself.  It  is  only  just  that,  for  a  Spouse 
who  is  God,  more  should  be  abandoned  than  for  one  who 
is  nothing  more  than  human." 

Now  this  renunciation,  this  entire  stripping  of  one's  seK 
is  the  perfect  sacrifice  of  the  soul  of  the  Religious;  and 
thus  it  is  in  every  respect  true  that  by  sacrifice  the  most 
perfect  union  is  effected  between  the  divine  Spouse  and 
that  soul;  and  that  her  state  of  a  victim  which  has  been 
slain  is  a  condition  of  the  celestial  alliance;  it  is  her  bridal 
dowry,  the  sublime  bond  that  unites  her  to  her  Lord. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

ON    THE    DIFFERENT    DEGREES    OP    UNION    WITH    JESUS,    IN 
HIS   CHARACTER  OF  VICTIM:   SOME   PRELIMINARY  CONSIDER- 
ATIONS ON  UNION  WITH  OUR  LORD  IN  GENERAL. 

The  whole  life  of  the  Christian,  provided  he  lives  up  to 
the  grace  of  his  baptism,  tends  constantly  toward  his 
union  with  God.  That  union  is  his  only,  his  necessary 
end.  The  sanctifying  grace  infused  into  the  soul  in  bap- 
tism is  its  first  stage;  the  last  will  only  be  attained  in 
heaven,  for  it  consists  in  the  clear  vision,  the  beatific 
possession  of  God. 

But  in  what  does  this  union  with  God  precisely  and 
positively  consist?  It  consists  (and  no  other  hypothesis 
is  admissible),  it  consists,  we  repeat,  solely  in  union  with 
Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  and  this  is  so  not  only  because 
Our  Lord  is  Himself  God,  but  also  because,  in  His  quality 
of  God-Man,  He  is  alone  the  Way,  the  Truth,  and  the  Life. 
He  is  the  Way,  the  one  and  only  Way,  because  it  is  only 
through  Jesus  Christ  that  we  can  attain  to  the  union  with 
God.  He  is  the  sole  Truth,  because  it  is  in  Him  that  our 
union  with  God  is  brought  about  and  completed.  Finally, 
He  is  the  Life,  because  it  is  the  communication  which  He 
makes  of  Himself  to  us,  and  whereby  He  gives  life  to  our 
souls,  which  constitutes  our  union  with  God. 

Thus  it  is  in  a  very  true  sense  that  Jesus  Christ,  through 
whom,  in  virtue  of  His  human  and  divine  nature,  we  can 
alone  be  united  to  God,  is  our  real  and  final  end.  Hence 
when  our  union  with  Him  is  once  effected   we  need  seek 

73 


74  UNION  WITH  JESUS. 

no  longer,  we  have  reached  our  goal.  St.  Augustine 
teaches  us  this  truth:  ''Jesus  Christ,"  he  says,  "is  our 
ultimate  end.  And  why  so?  Not  because  His  office  is  to 
consume,  but  to  consummate.  For  to  consume  is  to 
destroy,  whereas  to  consummate  is  to  make  perfect. 
Therefore  Christ  is  our  end;  for  the  more  we  strive  to  be 
united  to  Him  the  more  we  shall  be  rendered  perfect  in 
Him  and  by  Him;  our  perfection  therefore  consists  in 
attaining  to  Him  through  charity.  And  when  thou  shalt 
have  reached  Him,  seek  nothing  further:  He  is  thy  final 
end." 

These  words  are  full  of  deep  meaning.  Not  only  do 
they  contain  a  grand  doctrinal  lesson,  they  also  contain 
an  eminently  practical  truth.  They  teach  us  that  through- 
out the  whole  course  of  our  spiritual  life,  both  in  the  early 
days  of  our  conversion,  and  at  the  period  when  we  made 
solid  progress  in  virtue,  as  well  as  later  on  in  the  practise 
of  the  good  works  appertaining  to  the  way  of  perfection, 
we  must  never  lose  sight  of  Christ,  but  keep  His  mysteries. 
His  teaching.  His  example  continually  before  our  eyes. 
Let  us  listen  to  what  the  saint  we  have  just  quoted  says 
expressly  after  the  passage  given  above:  "Just,"  he  says, 
"as  the  goal  of  any  journey  we  make  is  the  place  to  which 
we  are  going,  so  that  when  we  have  reached  that  place  we 
stop  and  proceed  no  farther;  in  like  manner  the  end  and 
aim  of  all  thy  solicitude,  of  all  the  projects  thou  formest,  of 
all  the  exertions  thou  dost  make,  of  all  the  diligence  thou 
dost  exercise  is  He  toward  whom  thou  tendest;  and  when 
Thou  shalt  have  attained  to  Him  thy  desires,  thy  efforts 
will  be  ended,  since  there  is  nothing  beyond  that  is  better 
or  more  desirable  than  Him.  Therefore  He  has  proposed 
Him  to  us  as  our  model  in  this  present  life,  and  promises 
to  give  Himself  to  us  as  our  reward  in  the  life  that  is  to 
come."  How  lucid,  how  full  of  unction  is  the  teaching 
conveyed  in  those  words  I 


UNION  WITH  JESUS.  75 

Jesus  is  our  final  end.  To  be  united  to  Him  is  to  reach 
the  utmost  limit  of  the  supernatural  life.  Therefore  to 
compass  that  union  is  the  one  great  concern  of  our  life 
in  this  world,  and  the  greater  or  less  degree  of  perfection 
in  this  union  depends  on  the  greater  or  less  degree  of 
our  progress  in  the  spiritual  life  toward  a  state  of  perfec- 
tion. 

All  this  is  quite  plain.  Again  we  repeat:  Jesus  is  be- 
fore all  and  above  all  a  victim.  This  is  the  principal 
character  in  which  He  appears  before  His  Father,  to 
whom  He  pays  all  the  homage  which  is  His  due,  and  before 
men,  on  whom  He  bestows  both  in  time  and  in  eternity 
all  the  blessings  of  which  they  stand  in  need. 

Hence  it  follows  that  to  be  united  to  Jesus  is  to  be 
united  to  Him  in  His  capacity  of  victim.  He  is  also  a 
teacher,  a  king.  But  how  could  it  possibly  be  imagined 
that  our  union  with  Him,  the  union  which,  as  we  have 
seen,  is  the  realization  of  our  ultimate  end,  could  be  a 
union  with  Him  in  His  capacity  of  teacher  or  of  king? 
Therefore  when  we  speak  of  union  with  Christ,  it  is  equiva- 
lent to  speaking  of  union  with  Him  in  His  state  of  a  victim 
that  has  been  slain.  It  is  true  that  He  is  a  priest  at  the 
same  time  as  a  victim;  and  it  is  also  true  that  our  union 
with  Him  as  our  final  end  is  also  union  with  Him  in  His 
sacerdotal  character.  And  why  so?  Because  we  ought 
to  do  our  part  in  constituting  ourselves  burnt-offerings 
before  His  Father,  and  that  we  can  not  accomplish  with- 
out we  participate  in  His  priesthood.  This  is  the  reason 
why,  as  has  already  been  said,  every  Christian,  and  pre- 
eminently every  Religious,  is  the  priest  who  officiates  at 
the  sacrifice  of  himself.  But  we  give  the  greater  promi- 
nence to  this  idea,  that  the  Christian  is  united  to  Christ 
in  his  character  of  a  victim  rather  than  in  that  of  a  priest, 
because  the  limit  of  his  sacerdotal  office  is  to  reduce  him- 
self to  the  state  of  a  victim  that  has  been  sacrificed ;  and 


76  UNION  WITH  JESUS. 

it  is  by  reaching  that  Hmit  through  the  exercise  of  His 
sacerdotal  power  that  Our  Lord  renders  to  His  Father 
all  the  homage  that  is  His  due,  and  confers  on  mankind 
all  the  benefits  which  they  look  for  from  Him. 

The  inference  we  have  already  drawn  is  therefore  self- 
evident:  to  unite  one's  self  to  Jesus  in  His  character  of 
victim  is  to  unite  one's  self  to  Him  in  the  state  wherein 
He  is  truly  our  final  end,  for  that  is  the  state  in  which 
He  is  our  Way,  our  Truth,  our  Life.  To  strive  after 
union  with  Jesus,  the  adorable  Victim,  is  consequently  a 
duty  incumbent  on  every  Christian;  but  to  strive  after 
a  perfect  union  is  the  duty  incumbent  on  every  Religious. 
When  theologians  assert  that  every  professed  Religious 
is  strictly  bound  to  strive  after  perfection,  under  pain  of 
mortal  sin,  they  refer  implicitly  to  the  perfection  of  that 
union.  For  what  perfection  can  there  possibly  be  apart 
from  Christ  crucified,  apart  from  His  grace,  His  mysteries, 
apart  from  union  with  His  intentions  of  self-sacrifice? 
No,  there  is  all  that  the  Religious  needs.  Were  he  to 
lose  sight  of  this  aspect  of  his  state,  he  would  at  the  same 
time  lose  all  solace,  all  strength,  and  also  all  glory;  for 
his  solace,  his  strength,  his  glory  consist  wholly  and  solely 
in  this,  in  his  being  nailed  to  the  cross  with  Christ.  In 
fact  that  which  more  than  all  else  throws  into  bright  relief 
the  sanctity,  the  sublimity,  the  true  gfandeur  of  the  re- 
hgious  state  is  that  it  is  of  all  states  the  one  which  renders 
man  most  like  to  Christ  crucified.  Justly  therefore  may 
the  three  vows  of  the  Religious  be  compared  to  the  three 
nails  by  which  our  divine  Master  was  fastened  to  the 
cross.  It  would  undoubtedly  be  a  glorious  martyrdom, 
one  much  to  be  desired  by  the  Christian,  to  be  fastened 
to  the  cross  of  the  Redeemer  with  the  same  nails  where- 
with His  sacred  hands  and  feet  were  transfixed.  Now 
the  Religious  enjoys  that  privilege.  By  his  profession 
he  is  brought  into  closer  proximity  to  Christ  crucified 


UNION  WITH  JESUS.  77 

than  he  could  be  by  the  use  of  the  identical  instruments 
by  means  of  which  death  was  inflicted  on  Our  Lord's 
body.  The  real  cross  of  the  Saviour  is  His  complete 
self-renunciation,  the  comprehensiveness  of  His  sacrifice. 
And  it  is  on  this  cross  that  every  Religious  must  in  turn 
lay  himself,  as  upon  an  altar  whereon  the  oblation  of  the 
Lamb  of  God  is  renewed  and  perpetuated  until  the  end 
of  time;  and  there,  by  taking  the  three  vows,  he  under- 
goes that  mystic  death  of  the  soul  which  enables  him  to 
live  a  new  life  in  that  of  his  risen  Lord. 

Let  us  proceed  to  consider  the  different  degrees  of  per- 
fection which  there  may  be  in  the  union  of  the  soul  of 
the  monk  or  nun  with  Our  Lord  in  His  character  of  a 
victim. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

ON  THE  UNION  OF  THE  SOUL  OF  THE  RELIGIOUS  WITH  JESUS 
CHRIST  IN  THE  OBLATION  HE  OFFERED. 

The  soul  of  the  Religious,  the  spouse  of  the  Tiamb  that 
was  slain,  deems  nothing  worthy  of  her  attention  in  com- 
parison with  Jesus,  consumed  by  the  flame  of  love  for  us 
upon  the  altar.  She  passes  in  thought  from  the  mystery 
of  His  oblation  of  Himself  to  that  of  His  immolation  on 
the  sacrificial  altar,  or  to  some  other,  also  connected  with 
His  life  as  a  victim.  She  dwells  on  the  minutest  details 
of  these  mysteries,  she  makes  it  her  constant  study  to 
acquaint  herself  with  their  spirit,  she  applies  to  herself 
the  sublime  lessons  they  contain;  her  chief  endeavor  is 
to  enter  into  the  sentiments  which  are  revealed  to  her 
gaze  in  her  Beloved;  that  is  her  life.  Like  the  spouse 
in  the  Canticles,  she  says:  "A  bundle  of  myrrh  is  my 
Beloved  to  me;  He  shall  abide  between  my  breasts" 
(Cant.  i.  12).  "My  Beloved  to  me,  and  I  to  Him"  (Cant, 
ii.  16). 

The  first  mystery  bearing  upon  Our  Lord's  sacrifice  is 
that  of  His  oblation  of  Himself  in  His  Mother's  womb. 
It  follows  that  the  first  degree  of  union  with  Jesus  in  His 
character  of  victim  is  in  sharing  the  mystery  of  His  obla- 
tion. But  before  setting  forth  what  we  have  to  say  on 
this  point,  it  will  be  well  to  recall  to  mind  some  funda- 
mental ideas  concerning  Our  J^ord's  sacrifice. 

Throughout  His  whole  life  our  kind  and  gentle  Saviour 

78 


THE  OBLATION  OF  JESUS.  79 

was  a  victim,  that  is  to  say,  He  was,  during  His  whole  life, 
so  to  speak,  in  a  posture  of  sacrifice,  not  only  in  the  mys- 
teries wherein  His  character  of  victim  was  made  plainly 
manifest,  as,  for  instance,  in  His  Passion,  but  in  all  the 
other  mysteries,  nay,  at  every  moment  of  His  divine  Hfe. 
In  the  Blessed  Virgin's  womb,  later  on  at  Bethlehem, 
in  Egypt,  at  Nazareth,  even  w^hen  He  was  preaching  the 
Gospel  to  the  multitudes,  everywhere  and  always  He  was 
a  victim  before  His  Father,  a  victim  offered  up  and  slain 
for  the  salvation  of  mankind.  This  He  was  not  only  in 
virtue  of  His  interior  dispositions,  but  also  by  His  every 
act,  both  inward  and  outward,  of  reverence  for  His  Father 
and  of  love  for  man. 

But  although  it  is  true  that  Our  Lord  never  for  a  single 
instant  ceased  to  be  really  and  truly  a  victim,  both  as 
regards  His  interior  disposition  and  the  attitude  of  His 
soul,  it  is  also  true  that  His  outward  state  was  not  always 
apparently  that  of  a  victim.  It  may  even  be  said  that 
the  character  of  victim  was  only  made  manifest  in  some 
special  mysteries;  we  refer  to  His  Incarnation,  His 
Passion,  His  Resurrection,  and  His  Ascension. 

And  not  without  good  reason  was  Our  Lord's  state  as 
a  victim  only  made  outwardly  apparent  in  those  four 
mysteries,  for  since,  in  the  sacrifices  of  the  Old  Law  (which 
Our  Lord's  sacrifice  was  to  accomplish  and  supersede), 
there  were  four  parts,  i.e.,  Oblation,  Immolation,  Trans- 
formation, and  Participation,  it  was  fitting  that  in  Our 
Lord's  sacrifice  also  there  should  be  the  same  four  parts 
to  which  the  principal  mysteries  of  His  life  should  corre- 
spond. And  this  fact  will  surely  elicit  our  wondering 
admiration  when  we  observe  how,  in  the  mystery  of  His 
Incarnation,  He  presents  His  oblation,  in  that  of  the  Pas- 
sion He  immolates  Himself,  while  in  His  Resurrection 
He  is  seen  transformed  and  glorified,  and  finally  in  His 
Ascension  He  fulfils  what  was  the  fourth  part  of  the  ancient 


80  THE  OBLATION  OF  JESUS, 

sacrifice,  the  distribution  of  portions  of  the  victim  to  the 
people  as  communion. 

When  this  is  once  apprehended,  we  can  enter  with 
greater  facility  upon  our  subject,  which  is  to  point  out 
how  Jesus  offered  Himself  as  a  victim  in  His  Incarnation, 
and  in  what  way  the  soul  of  the  Religious  is  united  to  her 
divine  Spouse  in  this  mystery  which  constitutes  the  first 
act  in  His  sacrifice. 

We  learn  from  St.  Paul  that  Our  Lord  offered  Himself 
as  a  victim  in  the  mystery  of  His  Incarnation.  The  Apostle 
thus  describes  what  went  on  in  Our  Lord's  soul  in  the  first 
instant  of  His  human  existence.  Although  Jesus  pos- 
sessed the  nature  of  God,  and  was  in  the  form  of  God, 
*'He  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with  God,  but 
emptied  Himself,  taking  the  form  of  a  servant,  being  made 
in  the  likeness  of  men.  ...  He  humbled  Himself,  becom- 
ing obedient  unto  death,  even  to  the  death  of  the  cross" 
(Phil.  ii.  6-8).  "Wherefore  when  He  cometh  into  the 
world.  He  saith  [to  the  Father]:  Sacrifice  and  oblation 
[under  the  Old  Law]  Thou  wouldest  not;  but  a  body  Thou 
hast  fitted  to  Me  [a  body  which,  being  united  to  the  divin- 
ity, will  be  a  victim  worthy  of  Thy  sovereign  Majesty]. 
Holocausts  for  sin  [which  were  offered  to  Thee]  did  not 
please  Thee.  Then  said  I:  Behold  I  come;  in  the  head 
of  the  book  [of  the  Law  and  of  the  prophets]  it  is  written 
of  Me,  that  I  should  do  Thy  will,  O  God.  In  the  which 
will  we  are  sanctified  by  the  oblation  of  the  body  of  Jesus 
Christ  once"  (Heb.  x.  5-7,  10). 

Such  is  the  account  St.  Paul  gives.  Since  Jesus  is  a 
victim.  His  first  act,  on  coming  into  the  world,  is  naturally 
an  act  of  oblation. 

Let  the  devout  soul,  therefore,  contemplate  the  sweet 
Saviour,  her  Spouse,  living  in  His  Mother's  womb  in  the 
deepest  obscurity,  the  most  complete  self-annihilation. 
Let  this  mystery  frequently  form  the  subject  of  her  medi- 


THE  OBLATION  OF  JESUS.  81 

tations,  the  object  of  her  adoration;  let  it  encourage  her 
to  make  good  resolutions.  It  is  thus  that  the  union  of 
the  soul  to  Christ  commences.  The  first  act  of  the  faithful 
spouse  ought  to  be  to  enter  into  the  interior  dispositions 
of  the  adorable  Victim  and  make  them  permanently  her 
own.  What  happiness  is  in  reserve  for  her  if  in  very  deed 
she  descends  into  the  unfathomable  abyss  of  the  annihila- 
tion of  the  divine  Victim;  if  she  meets,  if  she  reaches  her 
Beloved  in  those  depths  where  He  conceals  Himself  in 
order  to  show  that  the  creature  is  nothing,  the  Creator 
all  in  all;  for  this  is  the  actuating  motive  of  His  infinite 
self-abasement.  The  love  of  abjection,  that  is,  true 
humility  in  union  with  Our  Lord's  humiliation  as  a  sacri- 
ficial victim,  constitutes  the  first  condition  of  the  divine 
union;  it  is  the  first,  the  only  foundation  on  which  is  raised 
the  supernatural  structure,  the  hallowed  temple  where 
the  adorable  Spouse  vouchsafes  to  abide.  All  our  life 
we  ought  to  labor  at  the  task  of  laying  that  foundation 
more  and  more  firmly  in  our  souls.  In  proportion  to  the 
solidity  that  foundation  gains  will  be  the  perfection  of  the 
superstructure  resting  on  it. 

The  novice  ought  to  say  to  himself:  I  must  descend 
into  those  depths;  in  order  to  attain  the  desired  end  all 
that  is  within  me  must  be  abased.  In  saying  all,  I  mean 
my  intellect,  my  thoughts,  my  self-love,  m}^  judgment, 
my  will,  even  my  body,  all,  in  short,  that  I  am  or  have. 
And  when  I  meet  with  humiliations,  which  under  one  form 
or  another  are  sure  to  fall  to  my  lot;  humiliations  which 
will  help  me  to  subdue  myself,  to  abase  myself;  which 
will  serve  to  accelerate  my  swift  descent  into  a  state  of 
self-annihilation,  a  descent  of  which  self-love  continually 
seeks  to  slacken  the  speed,  I  will  say:  This  is  one  of  the 
most  precious  graces  of  my  life. 

The  professed  Religious  will  imitate  Our  Lord  by  re- 
joicing to  be  thought  nothing  of  by  his  brethren.     He 


82  THE  OBLATION  OF  JESUS. 

will  delight  to  place  himself  in  spirit  at  their  feet,  nay, 
under  their  feet,  saying  in  his  heart:  Exinanivit  semetip- 
sum,  My  Lord,  my  love,  my  God,  emptied  Himself. 

The  monk  or  nun  who  holds  an  office,  Superiors  and 
heads  of  houses,  ought  to  entertain  similar  sentiments. 
They  should  finish  the  text:  Exinanivit  semetipsum,  for- 
mam  servi  accipiens,  He  emptied  Himself,  taking  the 
form,  the  condition  of  a  servant.  For  every  Superior 
ought,  unless  he  is  quite  ignorant  of  his  duties,  to  be  the 
servant  of  all  his  brethren. 

What  tongue  can  tell  the  divine  blessings  that  will 
assuredly  rest  upon  a  religious  house,  all  of  whose  inmates 
are  so  happy  as  to  have  attained  this  first  degree  of  union 
with  Jesus,  the  Lamb  that  was  slain.  What  peace,  what 
charity,  what  a  spirit  of  recollection  and  silence  will  pre- 
vail in  that  house,  where  the  souls  of  all  are  fixed  on  God 
in  a  habitual  posture  of  prayer!  The  graces  awarded  to 
those  who  practise  this  devotion,  the  precious  fruits 
which  they  will  reap  from  their  union  with  their  divine 
Spouse  in  His  self-annihilation  are  indeed  beyond  the 
power  of  w^ords  to  express. 

It  must,  however,  be  observed  that  Our  Lord  does  not 
remain  passive  in  His  abasement.  His  first  act  was  to 
present  Himself  as  a  victim  before  God,  before  the  sovereign 
Majesty,  the  infinite  Being  of  the  Most  High.  But  since 
the  first  stage  in  His  sacrifice  is  the  oblation.  He  offers 
up  Himself  at  the  same  time  that  He  makes  Himself  as 
nothing.  He  elevates  Himself  in  a  certain  way  by  abso- 
lute abandonment  of  Himself  to  the  will  of  God;  for  by 
resting  in  His  nothingness  He  rests  also  in  God.  This 
disposition  Our  Lord  expresses  in  the  words:  Ecce  venio, 
Behold  I  come,  to  do  Thy  will,  O  God. 

This  second  disposition  of  the  Heart  of  Jesus  must  also 
be  that  of  the  soul  of  the  Religious  if  she  is  the  true  spouse 
of  Jesus  crucified.    All  that  she  sees  to  be  the  will  of  God 


THE  OBLATION  OF  JESUS.  83 

will  be  her  light,  her  joy,  her  life;  the  vows  with  their 
weighty  obligations,  the  holy  Rule  with  its  manifold 
regulations  and  observances,  the  customs  of  the  House 
with  their  minute  details,  every  behest,  every  wish,  every 
sign  of  her  Superior.  And  not  these  alone,  but  also  all 
the  infinite  variety  of  circumstances  whereby  God  is  grar 
ciously  pleased  to  make  His  will  known;  spiritual  trials 
and  physical  suffering  whatever  their  source  or  their  cause 
may  be,  vexations  and  contrarieties  of  every  kind,  etc. 
Ecce  venio,  is  her  cry:  Behold  I  come,  to  do  Thy  will,  O 
God;  Thy  will,  all  that  Thou  wiliest!  That  is  my  great 
ambition,  my  one  desire;  for  that  alone  my  soul  hungers 
and  thirsts. 

This  attitude  of  complete  abandonment  to  God^s  good 
pleasure  is  indispensable  for  every  Religious,  and  for  the 
novice  it  is  more  especially  befitting.  The  novitiate  is  the 
commencement  of  the  religious  life,  and  answers  to  the 
oblation  which  is  the  initial  act  of  the  sacrifice.  Where- 
fore let  the  novice  who  is  desirous  of  uniting  himself  to 
Our  Lord  in  His  oblation  of  Himself,  consider  that  he  is 
hidden  in  the  seclusion  of  the  novitiate,  there  to  become 
as  naught  before  God  and  before  man,  to  five  in  abandon- 
ment to  the  good  pleasure  of  the  Most  High. 

What  a  happy  time  for  him!  Like  Jesus,  who  did  not 
anticipate  by  a  single  day,  not  even  by  a  single  hour,  the 
moment  appointed  by  His  Father  for  Him  to  manifest 
Himself  to  the  world,  but  remained  tranquilly,  gladly  in 
His  utter  solitude,  so  the  novice  should  rest  peacefully, 
joyfully  in  the  obscurity  of  his  hidden  life,  without  any 
desire  to  see  the  end  of  his  term  of  probation.  What  he 
has  to  do  is  to  place  himself  constantly  at  the  disposal 
of  the  divine  will,  in  union  with  Jesus,  under  the  patronage 
of  Mary.  Again,  I  say,  what  a  happy  period!  Once 
past,  it  will  never  come  again,  but  of  all  his  life  in  religion^ 
however  long  it  may  be,  no  memories  will  be  so  dear  to 


84  THE  OBLATION  OF  JESUS. 

him  as  those  of  the  days  spent  in  silence,  in  humiUty,  in 
fihal  and  happy  abandonment  of  self. 

Union  with  Om*  Lord  in  His  oblation  is  rendered  closer 
by  uniting  one's  self  to  Him  in  the  spirit  of  the  mysteries 
immediately  following  the  primary  act  of  His  life  on  earth. 
In  His  birth  at  Bethlehem,  the  divine  Victim  is  seen  by 
us  for  the  first  time  poor  and  in  destitution;  the  love  of 
poverty  is  the  lesson  to  be  learned  from  it.  In  the  mystery 
of  the  Presentation  we  behold  His  public  oblation,  and 
we  endeavor  to  enter  into  the  special  dispositions  of  sim- 
plicity, of  obedience,  of  humility,  of  perseverance  in  the 
path  of  sacrifice  which  this  mystery  teaches  us.  Then 
come  the  days  of  exile  in  Egypt  and  of  His  hidden  life 
at  Nazareth,  and  finally  His  baptism  on  the  banks  of  the 
Jordan,  His  forty  days'  fast  in  the  desert,  and  His  public 
life;  these  and  all  the  other  circumstances  of  Our  Lord's 
earthly  existence  will  furnish  us  with  a  theme  for  loving 
meditation  all  the  remainder  of  our  days.  The  soul  who 
is  espoused  to  the  Victim  slain  for  our  salvation  will  find 
in  this  her  light,  her  sweetness,  and  the  fortifying  grace 
proper  to  her  state  of  a  victim,  and  which,  by  confirming 
her  in  this  first  stage  of  union  with  her  divine  Spouse, 
will  prepare  her  to  proceed  to  the  second:  union  with 
Christ  in  His  immolation  of  Himself. 


CHAPTER  X. 

ON  THE  UNION  OP  THE  SOUL  OF  THE  RELIGIOUS  WITH  JESUS 
CHRIST  IN  HIS  IMMOLATION  OF  HIMSELF. 

Jesus  is  now  about  to  become  a  bloody  Spouse  for  the 
soul  of  the  Religious.  This  expression  is  borrowed  from 
the  book  of  Exodus.  Sephora,  the  wife  of  Moses,  took, 
we  are  told,  a  very  sharp  stone  and  circumcised  her  son, 
in  obedience  to  the  divine  command  which  Moses  had 
omitted  to  fulfil.  But  the  blood  began  to  flow;  the 
mother's  heart  was  grieved  at  the  sight,  and  she  said  to 
her  husband:  "A  bloody  spouse  thou  art  to  me"  (Ex.  iv. 
25,  26).  To  account  for  the  reproach  impUed  in  these 
words  it  must  be  remembered  that  Sephora,  not  being  a 
Hebrew,  was  only  bound  to  circumcise  her  child  because 
of  her  Jewish  husband.  She  seems  to  say:  *'But  for 
thee  I  should  not  be  forced  to  incur  the  pain  of  seeing 
the  child's  blood  flow.    A  bloody  spouse  thou  art  to  me." 

Now  biblical  commentators  observe  that  this  expression 
is  applicable  to  the  Religious.  The  soul  of  the  monk  or 
cloistered  nun  may  also  say  to  Our  Lord:  Sponsus  san- 
guinum  tu  mihi  es,  A  bloody  Spouse  Thou  art  to  me.  We 
are  sensitive  by  nature,  and  like  Sephora,  the  Madianite, 
we  have  a  horror  of  suffering;  we  shudder  at  the  sight 
of  blood.  But  we  are  united  by  our  profession  to  Him 
of  whom  Moses  was  a  type,  and  for  His  sake  we  ought 
to  love  suffering,  however  acute  it  may  be.  Jesus  will 
be  a  bloody  Spouse  for  us. 

85 


86  THE  IMMOLATION  OF  JESUS. 

The  mystery  of  Our  Lord's  Passion  is  a  bottomless  abyss- 
When  we  begin  to  meditate  on  the  sorrow,  the  heaviness 
that  overwhelmed  Him  in  the  Garden  of  Olives,  we  feel 
from  the  very  outset  that  we  are  entering  into  depths 
that  are  unfathomable.  The  self-annihilation  of  His 
oblation  may  to  a  certain  extent  be  termed  an  abyss, 
but  the  other  is  more  somber,  more  awful.  Then  come 
the  agony  and  sweat  of  blood.  As  we  proceed,  the  shadows 
thicken  around  this  mystery,  the  darkness  that  shrouds 
it  becomes  more  and  more  impenetrable;  and  thus  through- 
out the  course  of  the  dolorous  Passion  we  pass  on  from 
abyss  to  abyss,  until  the  stupendous  ejaculation:  *'My 
God,  My  God,  why  hast  Thou  forsaken  Me?"  strikes  on 
our  astonished  ear,  and  we  behold  Jesus,  our  heart's  true 
love,  expiring  upon  the  cross. 

Now  the  immolation  of  Our  Lord  is  being  accomplished ; 
the  second  part  of  the  sacrifice  of  the  adorable  Victim  is 
being  enacted  before  our  eyes.  Jesus  is  both  the  priest 
and  the  burnt-offering  of  that  sacrifice;  the  executioners 
are  only  the  instruments  employed  in  it. 

The  meaning  of  this  tremendous  mystery  miist  be  ex- 
pressed in  a  sentence,  for  this  is  not  the  place  to  meditate 
upon  it  in  detail.  Jesus  suffers,  Jesus  sheds  His  blood, 
Jesus  dies;  and  it  is  for  love  of  man  that  He  suffers,  sheds 
His  blood,  and  dies. 

The  Religious  who  aims  at  union  with  Our  Lord,  and 
who  is  no  less  desirous  to  be  united  to  Him  in  His  self- 
immolation  on  Calvary,  as  in  the  consolations  of  the  scene 
on  Thabor,  will  love  suffering;  he  will  love  it  for  two 
very  powerful  reasons.  He  will  love  it  ardently,  deeply, 
first  out  of  love  for  Jesus,  in  order  to  be  made  like  unto 
Him  in  suffering,  to  be  crucified  with  Him.  This  resem- 
blance is  an  absolute  necessity  for  him.  He  will  also  love 
suffering  for  the  sake  of  souls,  the  souls  of  unhappy  sin- 
ners, since  he  knows  that  only  by  sacrifice,  by  the  shedding 


THE  IMMOLATION  OF  JESUS,  87 

of  blood,  can  their  salvation  be  purchased,  and  he  desires 
to  suffer,  to  make  atonement  for  them.  But  we  must 
enlarge  somewhat  on  these  two  points. 

The  soul  of  the  Religious,  the  spouse  of  Jesus  crucified, 
loves  suffering  because  of  the  longing  she  feels  to  be  made 
like  to  her  divine  Bridegroom.  This  same  feeling  is  found 
in  the  order  of  nature;  affection  tends  to  produce  resem- 
blance of  the  closest  kind  to  the  object  of  our  love.  How 
much  stronger  is  this  impulse  in  the  order  of  grace!  St. 
Ignatius  of  Antioch  exclaims:  *'My  love  is  crucified!^' 
Amor  mens  cruci  affixus  est;  and  urged  by  the  stimulus  of 
the  charity  this  sight  evoked  within  him,  fearing  lest  the 
Romans  might,  in  their  affection  for  him,  prevent  him 
from  gaining  the  martyr's  palm  awaiting  him  in  Rome, 
he  writes  thus  to  them:  '^Forgive  me,  I  beseech  you,  my 
dearly  beloved,  for  what  I  say,  but  I  know  what  is  most 
advantageous  for  me.  Now  I  begin  to  be  a  true  disciple 
of  Jesus  Christ.  Welcome  the  scorching  fire,  the  shameful 
cross,  the  savage  beasts;  let  my  bones  be  broken,  my 
members  mutilated,  every  imaginable  torture  heaped 
on  me,  if  only  I  may  find  in  Jesus  Christ  my  joy  and  re- 
joicing ! " 

Such  heroic  sentiments  were  not  uncommon  among  the 
early  Christians.  In  their  epistles  the  apostles  constantly 
seek  to  inspire  their  converts  with  them.  St.  Peter  says: 
'*  Think  not  strange  the  burning  heat  which  is  to  try  you, 
as  if  some  new  thing  happened  unto  you;  but  if  you  par- 
take of  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  rejoice"  (I.  Pet.  iv.  12, 13). 
"Christ  also  suffered  for  us,  leaving  you  an  example  that 
you  should  follow  His  steps"  (I.  Pet.  ii.  21).  St.  Paul 
is  never  weary  of  reminding  them  of  the  same  truth ;  and 
unable  to  contain  his  rapturous  joy,  he  says  of  himself: 
''With  Christ  I  am  nailed  to  the  cross.  And  I  live,  now 
not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me."  Christo  confixus  sum 
crud;   vivo  autem,  jam  non  ego  (Gal.  ii.  19).     Who    but 


88  THE  IMMOLATION  OF  JESUS. 

must  admire  such  enthusiasm.  ^'This,"  says  St.  Dionysius 
of  Athens,  a  disciple  of  the  great  Apostle,  "is  an  ecstatic 
cry.  For  love  causes  ecstasy;  love  does  not  permit  the 
being  whom  it  animates  to  belong  any  more  to  himself, 
it  takes  him  out  of  himself,  elevates  him,  makes  him  one 
with  the  object  of  his  love.  Now  in  this  instance  Christ 
crucified  is  the  beloved  object.  St.  Paul  mounts  upward 
toward  the  center  of  his  being,  and  there  he  rests,  suffer- 
ing, slain,  bound,  nailed,  fastened  to  the  cross  with  Christ 
his  Beloved.     Christo  confixus  sum  cruciJ\ 

All  the  saints  have  felt  these  transports,  all  have  longed 
for  union  with  their  Beloved,  not  indeed  in  the  bUss  of 
Thabor,  but  in  the  sufferings  of  Calvary.  It  is  said  that 
Our  Lord  appeared  one  day  to  St.  Catharine  of  Sienna, 
and  offering  to  her  a  crown  of  gold  and  a  crown  of  thorns, 
told  her  to  choose  between  them.  His  faithful  and  generous 
spouse  did  not  hesitate;  she  chose  the  crown  of  thorns. 
"To  suffer  or  to  die,"  was  the  motto  of  the  glorious  St. 
Teresa.  "To  suffer  and  not  to  die,''  St.  Magdalen  of 
Pazzi  exclaims.  The  words  vary,  but  the  love  that  in- 
spires them  is  one  and  the  same.  It  is  union  with  their 
Beloved  for  which  these  souls  ask,  and  since  union  is  not 
possible  except  in  suffering,  it  is  for  suffering  that  they 
ask. 

The  soul  of  the  Religious  must  mount  upward  to  this 
stage.  "I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth  [upon  the  cross, 
said  the  divine  Spouse],  will  draw  all  things  to  Myself" 
(John  xii.  32).  Let  us  say  to  Him  with  love  unfeigned: 
"Draw  me"  (Cant.  i.  3). 

It  is  true  that  suffering  is  abhorrent  to  our  poor  nature; 
how  we  shrink  from  it !  When  it  comes  upon  us,  by  what- 
soever name  it  is  called,  whether  it  tortures  the  body  or  the 
soul,  how  we  endeavor  to  elude  it!  But  if  we  bear  it  at 
first  uncomplainingly,  with  our  eyes  fixed  upon  the  cross, 
we  aiiall  gradually  acquire  an  affection  for  it  which  nothing 


THE  IMMOLATION  OF  JESUS.  89 

can  diminish,  which  every  fresh  trial  we  encounter  in  our 
life  will  render  more  fervent,  more  generous. 

Suffering  is  the  source  of  so  much  that  is  good  and 
useful.  It  is  the  most  powerful,  most  efficacious  remedy 
for  sin.  It  humbles  the  flesh,  quells  spiritual  pride,  it 
enables  us  to  discharge  the  debts  we  have  contracted 
in  the  past,  it  is  the  school  of  genuine  virtue.  "He  that 
hath  not  been  tried,"  the  Holy  Spirit  declares,  "what 
manner  of  things  doth  he  know?"  (Ecclus.  xxxiv.  11). 
Suffering  strengthens  us,  it  makes  us  grow  in  stature; 
without  it  we  should  remain  mere  children  in  the  Christian 
life.  Until  we  are  visited  by  it,  until  it  forms  an  element 
in  our  existence  here  below,  we  can  not  feel  sure  of  the 
possession  of  a  single  virtue.  Our  most  admirable  reso- 
lutions, our  most  fervent  acts  of  devotion,  the  sentiments 
of  faith,  of  piety,  of  charity,  which  sometimes  kindle  our 
heart,  all  these  will  lack  vigor,  their  force  will  be  but 
fictitious.  The  divine  impress  of  the  cross  has  not  been 
stamped  upon  our  supernatural  dispositions  and  our 
works;  and  without  that  mark,  without  that  divine  seal, 
we  dare  not  place  much  confidence  in  that  which  appears 
the  best  and  highest,  even  when  the  flame  of  our  devo- 
tion burns  most  brightly. 

Our  Lord  knows  this,  and  it  is  the  reason  why  He  in- 
variably bestows  suffering,  as  being  the  most  precious 
of  gifts,  on  His  elect,  His  friends.  His  spouses.  And  if 
the  soul  accepts  that  gift  lovingly,  if  she  regards  it  as  that 
which  constitutes  the  happiness  of  this  earthly  existence, 
then  the  alliance  she  contracts  with  the  divine  Spouse 
is  one  of  surpassing  sanctity. 

Happy  the  soul  who  thus  detaches  herself  from  flesh 
and  blood,  who  only  lives  by  the  life  of  the  spirit.  Every 
Religious  who  strives  with  fervor  and  generosity  to  attain 
the  end  of  his  vocation  is  one  of  those  chosen  souls.  All 
that    tortures,    victimizes,    crucifies    nature:     infirmities. 


90  THE  IMMOLATION  OF  JESUS, 

sickness,  trials  arising  from  Community  life,  from  the 
exact  observance  of  the  vows  and  the  Rule,  all  this  he 
considers  to  be  of  inestimable  value,  a  prize  to  be  preferred 
to  all  the  good  things  earth  can  offer  taken  altogether. 
What  do  I  say?  He  values  them  more  than  all  that  con- 
stitutes the  happiness  of  heaven.  Suffering,  when  borne 
in  imion  with  Jesus  Christ  and  out  of  love  for  Him,  possesses 
a  charm  that  the  felicity  enjoyed  by  the  blessed  in  the 
eternal  country  in  a  certain  sense  can  scarcely  exceed. 
A  great  many  saints  say  the  same.  Listen  to  St.  Bernard: 
"I  venture  to  assert,"  he  says,  "that  the  life  of  the  angels, 
perfectly  happy  although  it  be,  would  be  wanting  in  one 
element  of  beatitude  which  I  possess,  if  they  could  not 
enjoy  what  makes  my  happiness.  But  they  do  share 
in  it  by  means  of  that  charity  which  makes  every  joy 
common  to  all.  And  that  happiness,  the  happiness  of 
suffering,  is  one  which  the  denizens  of  heaven  can  only 
know  through  the  dwellers  on  earth." 

Such  is  the  value  which  the  saints  attach  to  suffering, 
such  is  the  joy  they  feel  when  they  experience  its  powerful, 
its  painful  grasp.  This  perfect  degree  of  charity  is  not 
of  course  to  be  reached  all  at  once;  the  initial  steps  on  the 
sorrowful  way  are  difficult;  we  may  perhaps  even  think 
it  impossible  without  a  miracle  to  carry  our  cross  to 
Calvary.  Yet  little  by  little  the  fidelity  wherewith  we 
accepted  the  grace  of  lesser  crosses  will  merit  for  us  that 
of  bearing  greater  ones;  and  before  long,  being  established 
and  strengthened  in  charity  by  union  with  the  divine 
Spouse,  we  shall  be  able  to  say  with  St.  Paul:  "I  am  filled 
with  comfort;  I  exceedingly  abound  with  joy.  We 
suffered  all  tribulation,  combats  without,  fears  within" 
(II.  Cor.  vii.  4,  5). 

Thus  the  desire  for  perfect  union  with  Jesus  and  of 
acquiring  resemblance  with  Him  in  His  condition  of  a 
victim  that  was  slain,  makes  us  love  suffering;   but  this 


THE  IMMOLATION  OF  JESUS.  91 

very  desire  leads  us  to  give  a  definite  aim  to  our  trials 
and  sufferings;  this  aim  is  the  conversion  of  sinners  and 
to  make  reparation  for  the  insults  they  offer  to  almighty 
God.  Jesus  suffered  for  sinners;  He  was  a  victim  of 
atonement  for  them  before  His  Father;  the  soul  of  the 
Religious  desires  to  suffer,  she  will  take  pleasure  in  suffer- 
ing and  will  be  a  victim  for  the  same  intention,  in  union 
with  her  Spouse. 

She  must  not  allow  this  prospect  to  alarm  her.  The 
grace  of  her  vocation  requires  her  to  attain  that  end  and 
will  lead  and  guide  her  to  it.  The  soul  of  every  Religious 
is  a  mediatrix;  the  name  of  Religious  implies  as  much. 
It  would  be  a  strange  mockery  were  she  to  bear  this  title 
without  performing  the  duties  appertaining  to  it.  Christ 
crucified  shows  us  what  those  duties  are :  upon  the  cross  He 
prays,  He  suffers.  Supplication  and  suffering,  these  are 
the  two  conditions  essential  to  meditation.  Supplication 
solicits  pardon,  suffering  obtains  it.  The  soul  of  the 
Religious  acts  as  a  mediatrix  when  she  prays;  but  in 
order  that  her  ministry  of  reconciUation  should  lack 
nothing,  she  must  suffer  as  well.  Space  forbids  us  to 
quote  the  teaching,  the  example  of  the  saints  which  bear 
striking  witness  to  this  truth.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  from 
the  Fathers  of  the  desert  down  to  the  Communities  of  our 
own  day,  the  religious  Houses  are  tenanted  by  fervent 
souls  who  take  no  other  view  of  their  glorious  vocation. 

It  must  not  be  imagined  that  we  are  now  proposing  to 
souls  who  are  consecrated  to  God  an  extraordinary  way 
wherein  to  walk.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  their  rightful 
way.  Only  let  there  be  no  mistake;  the  Community  life, 
the  performance  of  the  most  ordinary  duties  of  the  relig- 
ious life,  the  faithful  observance  of  the  vows,  furnish  all 
that  is  necessary  for  the  attainment  of  the  end  set  before 
them.  It  is  not  to  exterior  works  that  God  looks,  it  is 
the  interior  intention  which  gives  them  their  value  in  His 
thrice  holy  sight.     He  was  pleased  to  ordain  that  man 


92  THE  IMMOLATION  OF  JESUS. 

should  be  redeemed  by  the  blood  that  was  shed  upon  the 
cross;  yet  the  simplest  action  of  Our  Lord's  life  at  Naza- 
reth, His  work,  His  toil,  would  have  been  amply  suffi- 
cient to  save  not  one  world  only,  but  a  thousand  worlds. 
In  the  same  manner  all  the  daily  trials  and  sacrifices  and 
sufferings  of  which  we  spoke  just  now,  some  of  which  are 
incidental  to  our  state  as  exiles,  while  others  are  caused  by 
the  yoke  of  the  Rule,  these,  each  and  all,  when  united  to 
Jesus  Christ,  to  His  Passion,  to  the  shedding  of  His  blood, 
to  the  merits  of  His  death,  are  the  principal  means  whereby 
we  are  enabled  to  act  our  part  of  mediator  for  the  salva- 
tion of  the  world  with  good  effect. 

Moreover,  Jesus  is  free,  He  can  dispose  of  His  faithful 
spouses  as  He  pleases.  He  has  His  chosen  souls  whose 
heroic  example  serves  to  encourage  us  when  we  are  on 
the  point  of  becoming  tepid  and  faint-hearted.  Some 
are  called  to  walk  in  ways  that  are  truly  extraordinary; 
they  are  to  be  compassionated,  for  those  ways  are  one 
among  other  sources  of  their  greatest  trials.  Others  are 
less  prominent,  being  kept  by  the  Spirit  of  God  in  salutary 
obscurity.  The  graces  received  vary  not  a  little  in  degree, 
but  those  to  whom  they  are  given  are  one  and  all  bound 
to  practise  the  work  of  charity  which  St.  Paul  designates 
in  the  words:  **Bear  ye  one  another's  burdens"  (words 
which  expositors  interpret  as  referring  to  the  zeal  which 
should  lead  us  to  expiate  in  our  own  person  the  sins  of  our 
brethren),  and  thus  come  at  last  to  say  with  the  same 
Apostle:  "I  fill  up  those  things  that  are  wanting  of  the 
sufferings  of  Christ  in  my  flesh,  for  His  body  which  is  the 
Church"  (Col.  i.  24). 

Words  fail  to  express  the  high  degree  of  sanctity  which 
the  soul  of  the  monk  or  nun  may  reach  if  she  is  conscious 
that  in  her  quality  of  bride  she  ought  to  enter  into  all  the 
intentions  of  her  Spouse,  and  share  in  all  His  states,  and 
if  she  is  careful  to  offer  no  resistance  to  the  grace  of  union 
with  Him  which  is  insured  to  her  by  her  vocation. 


CHAPTER  XL 

ON  THE  UNION  OF  THE  SOUL  OF  THE  RELIGIOUS  WITH  JESUB 
CHRIST   IN   HIS   STATE   OF  A   GLORIFIED   VICTIM. 

The  union  of  the  spouse  with  her  beloved  is  about  to 
assume  a  closer,  more  intimate  character;  her  love  for 
Him  to  become  purer.  A  sort  of  transformation  will  take 
place  in  the  object  of  her  affections.  But  the  soul  must 
still  remain  in  her  state  of  abasement  and  nothingness, 
for  it  is  there  and  not  elsewhere  that  her  Lord  loves  to 
find  her,  just  as,  in  the  mystery  of  the  Resurrection,  the 
glory  of  God  the  Father  sought  out  Jesus  in  the  obsciu-ity, 
the  ignominy  of  the  sepulcher. 

It  is  in  this  mystery  that  Our  Lord  principally  mani- 
fests Himself  to  us  as  a  glorified  victim,  transformed, 
divine.  The  mystery  of  the  Ascension  is  the  continuation 
and  consummation  of  this  one.  In  the  present  chapter 
we  shall  meditate  for  a  few  moments  on  each  of  them; 
but  in  order  not  to  repeat  what  has  been  said  elsewhere,* 
we  shall  confine  ourselves  chiefly  to  showing  in  what  the 
union  of  the  soul  with  Our  Lord  in  His  character  of  glori- 
fied victim  consists.  Let  us  first  recall  a  few  elementary 
thoughts  concerning  the  two  last  phases  of  Our  Lord's 
sacrifice. 

In  the  Incarnation  we  behold  Jesus  as  a  victim  offered 
to  God  the  Father;  in  His  Passion,  as  a  victim  slain.    In 

*  Cf.  "  De  rUnion  k  N.  S,  Jesus  Christ  dans  sa  vie  de  victime," 
ch.  xi,  and  xiii. 

93 


94  JESUS  CHRIST  A  GLORIFIED  VICTIM, 

the  mystery  of  the  Resurrection  He  appears  before  our 
sight  as  a  victim  transformed.  Let  no  one  take  exception 
at  the  use  of  this  term.  The  ecclesiastical  writers  who 
have  treated  this  subject  employ  no  other.  Listen  to  the 
words  of  Pope  Benedict  XIV. 

After  speaking  of  the  oblation  and  immolation  of  the 
victim,  he  says:  "In  the  sacrifices  of  the  Old  Law  the  vic- 
tim was  burnt  on  the  altar  of  bumt-offering,  in  order  that 
all  that  was  material  in  it  might  be  destroyed  by  fire,  and 
thus  the  smoke  might  ascend  to  heaven  as  an  odor  of 
sweetness,  as  the  Scriptures  say.  In  the  same  manner, 
under  the  New  Law,  the  sacrifice  of  the  great  Victim  was 
consummated.  This  took  place  at  Our  Lord's  Resurrec- 
tion, for  then,  according  to  St.  Paul's  words,  all  that  was 
mortal  in  Christ  was  swallowed  up  in  life,  and  all  that  was 
corruptible  in  His  body  was  consumed." 

A  real,  veritable  transformation  was  therefore  effected 
in  Our  Lord  on  the  day  of  His  Resurrection.  This  trans- 
formation was  only  external,  for  it  took  place  in  His  body 
alone.  But  since  the  different  states  through  which  His 
body  passed  correspond  to  certain  interior  dispositions 
which  our  divine  Saviour  vouchsafes  to  reveal  in  accord 
with  each  successive  state,  we  here  find  Him  disclosing 
two  most  admirable  interior  dispositions :  the  first  of  these 
is  perfect  detachment  from  all  created  things;  the  second 
is  an  ardent  longing  for  absolute  and  immutable  union 
with  His  Father  in  heaven. 

The  devout  soul,  the  true  spouse  of  Christ,  will  there- 
fore follow  Him  into  this  mystery,  and  Hke  Him,  detach 
herself  more  than  ever  from  all  created  things  and  aspire 
more  exclusively  to  union  with  God.  The  spirit  of  the 
Resurrection  is  a  spirit  of  purity  and  hoHness.  The  soul 
who  is  inspired  by  it  can  no  longer  tolerate  anything  human 
and  earthly  in  herself.  In  fact  she  says  to  every  creature 
what  Our  Lord  said  to  Mary  Magdalen:   "Do  not  touch 


JESUS  CHRIST  A   GLORIFIED  VICTIM.  95 

me'^  (John  xx.  17).  In  her  intercourse  with  her  fellow- 
men,  in  her  relationship  to  her  family  and  friends,  she 
repeats  continually  within  herself:  "Do  not  touch  me." 
And  this  conduct  does  not  proceed  from  arrogance  or  con- 
tempt of  others;  such  sentiments  would  be  the  ruin,  the 
destruction  of  the  grace  she  has  received.  No,  it  is  sim- 
ply the  tranquil,  loving  impulse  of  a  soul  for  whom  God 
alone  has  any  attraction.  Moreover,  her  charity  toward 
mankind,  her  brethren,  is  the  same  as  it  always  was;  nay, 
it  is  even  more  tender,  more  self-sacrificing  than  ever; 
only  that  soul  no  longer  feels  drawn  toward  creatures,  as 
creatures.  The  feelings  that  animate  her  are  indeed  alto- 
gether holy;  her  state  of  heart  is  one  in  which  the  most 
absolute  supernatural  liberty,  the  most  perfect  peace 
prevail ;  it  is  in  some  measure  a  foretaste  of  the  bliss  of 
heaven.  In  short,  the  spirit  of  her  risen  Lord  dwells 
within  her.  She  is  entirely  engrossed  with  her  Saviour; 
He  rules  all  her  thoughts,  her  desires,  her  whole  will;  and 
consequently  all  her  thoughts,  her  desires,  her  will,  are  no 
longer  directed  toward  earth  and  the  things  of  earth,  but 
to  God  alone.  Again  I  repeat,  what  a  holy  state!  How 
pure,  how  wondrously  perfect  is  the  charity  that  pervades 
that  soul ;  how  potent  is  the  divine  love  within  her !  It  is 
an  intense,  ever-increasing  love,  which  makes  her  contin- 
ually long  for  the  never-ending  union  with  her  Beloved. 
There  is  no  more  forcible  desire  than  this,  because  it  aims 
at  the  immediate  possession  of  our  final  end.  St.  Augus- 
tine expresses  this  in  the  well-known  words:  ''Thou  madest 
us  for  Thyself,  O  Lord,  and  our  heart  has  no  rest  until  it 
rests  in  Thee." 

The  spouse  in  the  Canticle  says:  "I  sought  Him  whom 
my  soul  loveth.  I  adjure  you,  O  daughters  of  Jerusalem, 
if  you  find  my  Beloved  that  you  tell  Him  that  I  languish 
with  love'*  (Cant.  iii.  1 ;  v.  8).  For  sometimes  it  is  languor 
she  feels  and  sometimes  fervor;  faintness,  not  of  love  but 


96  JESUS  CHRIST  A   GLORIFIED  VICTIM, 

of  the  spirit  and  the  flesh,  which  are  too  weak  to  bear  such 
emotions;  fervor,  because  in  the  moments  of  holy  inebria- 
tion, when  the  thoughts,  the  affections  are  concentrated 
on  the  object  of  her  love,  a  new  life  seems  to  burst  forth 
within  the  soul,  a  life  which  would  destroy  the  natural 
life  did  not  He  who  bestows  this  grace  regulate  the  whole 
being.  St.  Thomas  expresses  this  when  he  says:  ''The 
heart  opens,  and  it  is  as  if  it  would  do  violence  to  the 
inward  power  that  holds  it  back,  and  the  vehemence  of 
its  desire  is  so  excessive  as  to  cause  faintness."  Now 
David,  as  if  to  prevent  this  faintness  which  seems  to  stay 
the  upward  flight  of  love,  calls  God  his  strength  and  his 
life  at  the  very  time  when  he  describes  the  intensity  of 
his  love.  "As  the  hart  panteth  after  the  fountains  of 
waters,  so  my  soul  panteth  after  Thee,  O  God.  My  soul 
hath  thirsted  after  the  strong,  living  God;  when  shall  I 
come  and  appear  before  the  face  of  God?'^  (Ps.  xli.  2,  3.) 
Let  no  one  be  surprised  at  this.  The  impressions  made 
upon  the  heart  by  love  are  not  all  of  equal  force.  But 
let  us  make  one  reflection  of  use  to  ourselves :  Are  we  not 
bound  to  love  Our  God  with  all  our  heart,  with  all  our  soul, 
and  with  our  whole  strength?  Now,  if  this  is  the  com- 
mandment on  the  fulfilment  of  which  our  salvation  de- 
pends, shall  we  not  attain  to  love  in  its  purity  if  we  exceed 
by  ever  so  little  the  limit  fixed  by  the  commandment,  and 
enter  the  royal  realm  of  the  counsels?  The  counsels  rep- 
resent charity  in  its  intensest  degree;  now  who  ought  to 
aim  at  attaining  that  degree  if  not  the  spouse  of  Jesus 
Christ?  Let  us  not  stop  short  at  feehngs;  they  must  not 
be  our  rule;  they  are  treacherous  guides,  and  too  often 
lead  us  astray;  let  us  seriously  consider  what  is  proved 
by  our  actions.  Is  the  love  of  creatures  extinguished 
within  us?  Is  self-love  dead  in  our  heart?  Do  we  pray 
unceasingly,  unwearyingly  that  the  kingdom  of  God  may 
be  established  within  our  soul?     Do  we  long,  with  per- 


JESUS  CHRIST  A  GLORIFIED   VICTIM.  97 

sis  tent  longing,  for  the  plenitude  of  the  divine  life  within 
us?  Do  we  strive  by  continual  watchfulness  over  our 
outward  actions  and  our  inward  desires,  to  cause  this 
spirit  of  purity,  of  detachment  from  creatures,  the  spirit 
of  true  holiness  which  is  the  spirit  of  the  Resurrection,  to 
abide  in  us?  That  is  love,  love  endowed  with  all  the  char- 
acteristics ascribed  to  it  by  mystic  writers;  love  that 
languishes,  love  that  acts,  love  that  aspires,  love  that 
eventuates  in  union.  This  perfection  of  charity  is  the 
charity  which  ought  to  kindle,  to  consume  the  heart  of 
the  spouse  of  Christ,  of  the  soul  espoused  to  Him,  conse- 
crated to  Him  as  His  victim  on  the  solemn  day  of  her  pro- 
fession ;  or  else  we  shall  be  compelled  to  say  it  is  not  to  be 
the  portion  of  any  one  here  below. 

But  no,  it  is  not  so.  Jesus,  who  in  the  myTstery  of  His 
immolation  draws  the  soul  to  Himself,  also  imites  her  to 
Himself  in  His  transformation.  He  will  even  go  further, 
and  will  grant  her  to  share  in  the  graces  peculiar  to  the 
mystery  of  His  Ascension,  and  thus  the  union  will  be  con- 
summated to  the  utmost  degree  of  perfection  possible  on 
earth;  for,  as  we  have  already  said,  the  final,  the  immu- 
table union  can  only  take  place  in  heaven. 

The  mystery  of  the  Ascension  answers  to  the  fourth 
part  of  the  sacrificial  ceremony,  the  communion.  In  this 
admirable  mystery,  as  the  Church  terms  it.  Our  Lord  gives 
Himself  as  a  holocaust  of  sweet  savor,  first  to  His  Father 
and  afterward  to  the  Church.  "In  the  Ascension,"  Bene- 
dict XIV.  says,  "  the  Victim  is  accepted  by  God  the  Father." 
The  Father  takes  Him  to  His  bosom,  and  just  as  in  the 
burnt-offerings  of  former  times,  when  the  smoke  of  the  vic- 
tim consumed  by  fire  rose  up  to  heaven,  it  was  said  that  the 
victim  found  acceptance  with  God,  so  in  the  Ascension, 
which  mystery  was  the  realization  of  what  the  smoke  of 
the  sacrifice  symbolized,  God  the  Father  accepted  fully 
and  graciously  the  sacrifice  of  His  Son,  and  in  a  certain 


98  JESUS  CHRIST  A  GLORIFIED  VICTIM. 

sense  received  Him  into  His  heart.  In  like  manner  also 
in  the  ancient  sacrifices  the  people  communicated  in  the 
victim,  after  it  had  been  cleansed  by  fire,  so  after  Our 
Lord's  Ascension  the  Church  began  to  receive  Him  in  the 
adorable  Sacrament:  "This  took  place" — we  again  quote 
Benedict  XIV. — "on  the  Day  of  Pentecost,  when  the  vic- 
tim was  given  to  the  people,  the  victim  being  Jesus  Christ," 
both  by  the  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit  which  our  divine 
Saviour  bestowed  on  man  (as  St.  Paul  says:  "Ascending 
on  high  ...  He  gave  gifts  to  men"  (Eph.  iv.  8)),  and 
also  by  the  reception  of  the  Holy  Eucharist,  which  then 
began  to  be  enjoined  on  the  faithful. 

On  the  first  part  of  this  last  act  of  the  sacrifice,  its 
acceptance  by  God,  we  need  not  dwell.  The  soul  who 
has  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  Resurrection  has  the 
honor  to  be  thus  accepted;  for  as  in  this  mystery  Our 
Lord  becomes  in  an  unqualified  manner  one  in  whom  the 
Father  is  well  pleased,  so  the  soul  who  really  deserves 
to  be  called  His  spouse  is  also,  although  in  a  vastly  in- 
ferior degree,  an  object  of  the  divine  complacency.  But 
it  is  in  this  act  on  Our  Lord's  part  of  giving  Himself 
wholly  to  mankind,  in  His  character  of  a  victim  that  was 
slain,  by  holy  communion,  that  she  is  bound  to  imitate 
her  Spouse  and  thus  consununate  her  union  with  Him. 
Initiated  by  the  mystery  of  the  Resurrection  into  the 
perfection  of  charity  toward  God,  we  are  invited  by  that 
of  the  Ascension  to  attain  the  perfection  of  charity  toward 
our  neighbor.  For  Christian,  religious  perfection  culmi- 
nates in  this:  to  love  God  with  all  our  heart,  with  all  our 
soul,  with  our  whole  strength,  and  to  love  our  neighbor 
as  ourselves.  And  because  charity  toward  God  is  the 
source,  the  actuating  principle  of  charity  toward  our 
neighbor,  it  is  after  having  received  the  signal  grace  of 
fervent  love  toward  God,  that  we  feel  ourselves  urged 
to  an  ardent  love  for  our  neighbor.    St.  Gregory  the  Great 


JESUS  CHRIST  A  GLORIFIED  VICTIM,  99 

formulates  this  truth  when  he  says:  ''There  is  no  greater 
sacrifice  in  the  Christian  hfe  than  zeal  for  the  salvation 
of  souls/'  And  St.  Thomas,  citing  these  words  in  his 
Summaj  interprets  them  in  a  similar  sense:  "It  is  only," 
he  says,  "in  the  perfection  of  her  charity  toward  her 
neighbor  that  the  soul  can  carry  to  perfection  her  charity 
toward  God.'' 

The  Church,  the  clergy,  Religious,  all  classes  of  man- 
kind, both  just  and  sinners,  the  faithful  departed,  are 
meant  here  by  our  neighbor.  As  Our  Lord  gives  Himself 
to  each  and  all,  so  the  soul  who  is  His  true  spouse  and 
victim  gives  herself  to  all,  regarding  herself  as  a  debtor 
to  all,  as  St.  Paul  says  of  himself  (Rom.  i.  14). 

And  just  as  Jesus  gives  all  that  He  is  to  the  Christian 
soul  in  this  world,  His  body.  His  blood.  His  merits,  His 
prayers;  holding  back  nothing  and  promising  her  in  the 
world  to  come  the  possession  of  Himself,  so  the  soul  of  the 
Religious,  His  spouse,  regards  herself  as  the  property  of 
the  Church  and  of  all  the  members  of  Christ's  mystical 
body.  In  the  words  of  the  great  Apostle,  she  says:  "I 
most  gladly  will  spend  and  be  spent  myself  for  your  souls  " 
(II.  Cor.  xii.  15).  She  seems  to  exist  only  for  the  sake  of 
souls;  her  prayers,  her  penances,  her  acts  of  reparation 
are  all  appropriated  to  her  brethren.  And  she,  who  had 
apparently  found  in  God,  in  the  loftiness,  the  sublimity 
of  His  love  all  that  she  could  desire,  shows  that  something 
is  still  lacking  to  her;  she  wants  a  spiritual  progeny  to 
which  she  may,  so  to  speak,  give  birth  for  the  love  of  her 
God.  Till  she  can  do  this  she  will  not  be  fully  satisfied, 
completely  happy:  "Give  me  children,  otherwise  I  shall 
die"  (Gen.  xxx.  1). 

Thus  all  is  consummated  in  charity,  and  nothing  is 
wanting  to  the  perfect  union  of  the  Bridegroom  and  the 
bride.  In  what  will  the  bhss  of  heaven  consist?  In  the 
final  consummation  of  these  nuptials.    All  else  will  be 


100  JESUS  CHRIST  A  GLORIFIED  VICTIM. 

transformed  or  will  cease  to  exist,  but  charity  toward 
God  and  toward  our  neighbor  begins  here  below,  con- 
stantly increases  in  perfection,  and  reaches  its  climax  in 
heaven.  This  is  the  consummation  in  unity  for  which 
Our  Lord  prayed  to  His  Father  before  the  Last  Supper: 
"That  they  may  be  one,  as  We  also  are  One'*  (John  xvii. 
22). 

This  is  unquestionably  the  end  toward  which  all  Chris- 
tians are  by  their  vocation  bound  to  tend;  but  this  con- 
summation will  possess  a  distinctive  glory,  a  peculiar 
bliss  for  the  ReUgious,  since  Scripture  speaks  of  a  special 
union  in  heaven  between  virgin  souls  and  the  Lamb. 
"For  they  are  virgins.  These  follow  the  Lamb  whither- 
soever He  goeth"  (Apoc.  xiv.  4).  How  happy  then  is 
the  true  spouse  of  Christ,  the  perfect  victim  of  His  love! 
How  holy,  how  enviable  is  her  vocation!  Even  in  this 
exile,  the  union  effected  by  divine  grace  is  of  so  sublime 
a  character  that  all  eloquence  is  silenced,  all  admiration 
is  inadequate.  But  when  in  our  true  country  it  receives 
its  final  consummation,  who  can  tell  what  that  joy  and 
that  glory  will  be!  We  must  remember  what  St.  Paul 
says:  "Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  nor  hath  it 
entered  into  the  heart  of  man,  what  things  God  hath 
prepared  for  them  that  love  Him  "  (I.  Cor.  ii.  9). 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  MATERIAL  ASSISTANCE   OF  MARY  AFFORDS  THE  SWEET- 
EST    CONSOLATION    TO    THE     RELIGIOUS    IN     THE    WAY    OF 
SACRIFICE. 

This  is  indeed  the  sweetest,  most  delightful  solace  for 
the  soul  of  those  who  walk  in  the  way  of  sacrifice.  Vitaf 
dulcedo!  But  how  can  we  speak  aright  of  this  mystery 
of  love,  of  the  joy,  the  peace,  the  celestial  sweetness  of 
this  rapturous  existence?  For  all  the  children  of  the 
Church,  for  the  souls  who  are  ransomed  by  the  precious 
blood  of  Christ,  Mary  is  a  mother,  a  friend,  a  protector, 
a  counselor,  a  kind  and  gracious  queen,  a  watchful  media- 
trix whose  heart  overflows  with  love.  He  who  should 
succeed  in  telling  all  that  Mary  is  to  us,  poor  exiles,  would 
have  accomplished  the  impossible.  The  tenderness  of 
Mary^s  heart  is  beyond  compare,  her  devotion  to  her 
children  no  tongue  can  tell.  Mary  is  the  masterpiece 
of  love,  the  greatest  work  of  the  divine  Heart  of  Him 
who  is  at  the  same  time  her  God  and  her  Son.  We  must 
not  dwell  longer  on  this  subject;  but  for  heaven's  sake, 
never,  never  let  our  heart  cease  to  contemplate,  to  extol, 
to  love  that  perfect  heart,  that  heart  of  maternal  tender- 
ness; to  rest  in  that  heart,  to  exist  in  that  heart  which 
is  our  life,  the  life  whereby  we  live  in  Christ. 

Such  are  the  relations  in  which  Mary,  the  purest  of 
creatures,  stands  to  all  the  children  of  the  Church  in  a 
wondrous,  ineffable  manner.     But  we  must  acknowledge 

101 


102  MARY  AFFORDS  CONSOLATION  IN  SACRIFICE. 

and  gladly  assert  that  she  is  all  that  we  have  said  in 
quite  a  special  way  for  the  Religious,  for  the  spouse  of 
her  beloved  Son,  for  the  victim  consecrated  to  the  heart 
of  her  beloved  Son,  and  the  soul  of  each  Religious  has 
every  right  to  these  glorious  titles,  to  be  termed  the  spouse, 
the  victim  of  the  Heart  of  her  Beloved.  We  will  proceed 
to  show  at  least  very  briefly  (for  were  we  to  say  all  that 
could  be  said  on  this  delightful  theme  it  would  fill  a  thousand 
volumes),  to  show,  I  say,  how  Mary  is  in  reality  the  pa- 
troness, sometimes  even  the  foundress  of  the  religious 
Orders,  and  in  what  a  touching  manner  she  proves  herself 
to  be  their  mother,  their  queen,  their  directress,  their 
counselor,  their  advocate,  their  friend,  their  comforter, 
their  example,  in  short,  all  that  is  good  and  desirable  in 
one.     Let  us  glance  at  what  history  relates. 

The  Order  of  Mount  Carmel  is  the  most  ancient  of  re- 
ligious Orders.  Some  writers  seem  to  question  this  fact, 
but  to  us  it  appears  impossible  to  deny  it  the  honor  of 
priority,  seeing  that  it  was  founded  under  the  Old  Dis- 
pensation. Now  what  gives  Carmel  its  luster?  It  is 
Mary.  Regina  decor  Carmeli.  The  Church,  in  her  Offices, 
states  this  distinctly  and  definitely.  The  Order  of  Mount 
Carmel  is  undoubtedly  the  privileged,  the  favorite  Order 
of  Mary. 

Next  after  this  ancient  and  illustrious  Order  comes  that 
of  St.  Benedict,  the  most  celebrated  of  the  Orders  of  the 
West.  Mary  was  the  promoter  of  that  grand  monastic 
institute.  She  herself,  as  one  of  St.  Benedict's  spiritual 
daughters  has  shown,  prepared  him  for  his  great  and 
glorious  mission.  This  she  declared  on  one  occasion 
when  she  appeared  to  B.  Alain  de  la  Roche,  and  told  him 
that  the  great  achievements  of  St.  Benedict,  and  the  dis- 
tinction he  acquired  as  Father  of  the  Monks  of  the  West, 
were  owing  to  his  filial  devotion  to  her. 

Let  us  pass  on  to  the  Order  of  the  Carthusians,  justly 


MARY  AFFORDS  CONSOLATION  IN  SACRIFICE.    103 

renowned  throughout  Christendom.  The  tradition  at- 
taching to  the  sanctuary  of  Our  Lady  of  CasaHbus  suffi- 
ciently proves  that  from  the  very  outset  the  Blessed  Vir- 
gin watched  over  this  venerable  institute,  protecting  the 
saintly  hermits  with  tender,  anxious  love. 

A  few  years  later  we  find  the  Cistercians,  of  whose  re- 
form St.  Bernard  was  the  able  instrument.  But  to  whom 
does  the  glory  of  this  admirable  Order  belong?  To  Mary, 
to  none  other  than  Mary.  This  is  attested  not  only  by 
the  oldest  annals  of  the  Order,  but  by  a  papal  bull  as  well. 
Besides,  to  mention  St.  Bernard  is  to  mention  one  of  Mary's 
most  devoted  servants,  and  recall  her  maternal  care  for 
his  several  foundations. 

Then  there  are  St.  Francis  and  St.  Dominic.  The 
cradle  of  each  of  the  Orders  founded  by  these  two  saints 
respectively  bears  a  name  which  their  spiritual  offspring 
love  to  hear:  Our  Lady  of  the  Portiuncula  and  Our  Lady 
of  Pouille. 

The  same  century  witnessed  the  birth  of  two  other  great 
Orders — the  Servites,  and  the  Order  of  Ransom.  Several 
times  Our  Lady  appeared,  and  made  known  her  wish  that 
both  of  them  should  be  founded.  Every  one  is  acquainted 
with  the  history  of  the  seven  noblemen  of  Florence,  and 
that  of  St.  Peter  Nolasco. 

In  the  sixteenth  century  a  new  militia  arose,  animated 
by  zeal  and  holy  valor:  the  Society  of  Jesus,  of  whose 
powerful  aid  the  Church  stood  in  need.  Before  descend- 
ing into  the  arena  of  battle  with  his  intrepid  soldiery,  St. 
Ignatius  had  to  hold  his  armed  \dgil,  in  accordance  with 
the  rules  of  Christian  knighthood.  It  was  in  a  sanctuary 
dedicated  to  Our  Lady,  at  Montserrat,  that  he  prepared 
himself  to  combat  the  enemies  of  God  and  of  holy  Church. 

Since  the  Council  of  Trent  the  different  Congregations 
that  have  been  founded — and  their  name  is  legion — all 
without  exception  acknowledge  Mary  as  their  Queen,  and 


104  MARY  AFFORDS  CONSOLATION  IN  SACRIFICE. 

delight  in  paying  homage  to  her  under  one  title  or  anothei 
To  enumerate  them  here  would  indeed  be  impossible; 
therefore,  since  they  all  have  an  equal  share  in  our  esteem, 
we  will  not  single  out  any  for  special  mention;  but  one 
thing  may  be  said  of  all,  there  is  not  one  which  does  not 
call  on  Mary  with  joy  and  gladness  as  its  surest,  sweetest 
hope. 

They  are  indeed  right  in  so  doing.  Gratitude  alone 
would  make  it  their  first  duty.  All  the  blessings  they 
enjoy,  all  the  favors  they  have  received  come  through  the 
hands  and  from  the  heart  of  that  bountiful  Mother.  It  is 
to  her  love  that  each  individual  member  owes  his  or  her 
religious  vocation.  Yes,  it  is  her  loving  kindness  which 
he  has  to  thank  for  having  left  the  world  and  consecrated 
himself  to  God.  And  for  this  reason  monastic  institutions, 
if  they  would  prosper  and  accomplish  the  work  for  which 
they  were  called  into  existence,  must  be  careful  to  cherish 
the  most  sincere,  heartfelt,  loving  devotion  to  Mary.  He 
who  labors  without  her  assistance  labors  in  vain.  Our 
Lord  Himself  would  not  do  the  work  for  which  He  came 
upon  earth,  the  work  of  man's  redemption,  without  her 
cooperation.  Wherefore  in  all  that  relates  to  the  interior 
as  well  as  the  exterior  life  of  monastic  communities; 
whether  it  be  the  forming  or  perfecting  of  rules  and  con- 
stitutions, or  reviving  the  pristine  fervor  and  discipline; 
the  direction  of  the  novitiate,  the  admission  of  fresh  sub- 
jects, professions,  elections,  new  foundations;  difficulties 
to  be  solved,  seasons  of  trial  to  be  gone  through,  persecu- 
tions on  the  part  of  the  world  to  be  sustained ;  in  each  and 
all  of  these,  in  everything  affecting  the  interests  of  a  re- 
ligious community,  Mary  must  invariably  be  the  guiding 
star  they  look  to,  the  hope  in  which  they  trust,  the  help 
that  they  implore.  And  if  the  members  of  any  Congre- 
gation engage  in  active  works  of  charity,  such  as  orphan- 
ages, day  or  boarding  schools,  the  care  of  the  sick,  the 


MARY  AFFORDS  CONSOLATION  IN  SACRIFICE.   105 

aged,  the  infirm,  let  them  incite  those  who  are  under  their 
charge  to  love  Our  Lady,  to  honor  and  magnify  her,  and 
then  they  may  rest  assured,  they  may  feel  absolute  certi- 
tude, that  their  generous  Queen  will  repay  their  zeal  a 
hundredfold  by  the  spiritual  blessings  she  will  confer  on 
them.  The  annals  of  every  fervent  Congregation  bear 
testimony  to  this.  For  if  she  is  so  good  to  them  before 
they  have  done  anything  to  honor  her,  from  their  cradle, 
from  their  very  birth,  what  will  not  be  her  kindness,  her 
solicitude,  her  maternal  affection  for  her  children,  her 
Religious,  that  is,  if  they  correspond  to  her  designs  on 
their  behalf,  if  they  repay  her  by  their  fervor  and  grati- 
tude! 

As  we  can  not  enlarge  on  this  point  as  we  fain  would, 
we  must  ask  the  reader  to  peruse,  and  if  he  has  already 
done  so,  to  peruse  again  some  chapters  in  Fr.  Poire's  work, 
''The  Triple  Crown  of  the  Mother  of  God,"  or  in  ''The 
Glories  of  Mary,"  by  Mother  de  Bl^mur,  on  the  goodness 
and  bounty  of  the  Queen  of  heaven.  They  will  be  found 
sweet  as  honey  to  the  spiritual  taste. 

We  have  seen  Mary  to  be  the  special  protectress  of 
religious  Congregations.  Let  us  now  behold  her  as  the 
admirable,  the  perfect  example  of  the  individual  Religious. 
Here  again  we  must  restrict  ourselves  to  a  brief  survey  of 
this  delightful  theme. 

The  Blessed  Virgin  practised  all  the  virtues  of  religion  in 
an  eminent  degree.  She  was  the  perfect  pattern  of  souls 
who  are  consecrated  to  God  by  solemn  vows.  Who  does 
not  know  this?  Who  does  not  know  the  poverty,  the 
chastity,  the  obedience  of  the  Blessed  Virgin;  the  humil- 
Hy,  the  modesty,  the  love  of  silence,  the  mortification,  the 
fidehty,  the  charity  that  distinguished  her?  Every  pane- 
gyric of  our  adorable  Queen  proclaims  the  glory  her  vir- 
tues won  for  her.^    Heaven  and  earth  extol  her  as  being 

^  But  after  all  these  ascriptions  of  praise,  and  they  are  without 


106  MARY  AFFORDS  CONSOLATION  IN  SACRIFICE. 

a  perfect  mirror  of  justice  and  of  sanctity.  Not  only  did 
Our  Lady  practise  in  person  the  virtues  pertaining  to  the 
Rehgious,  but,  according  to  an  ancient  tradition,  accred- 
ited by  several  authors  of  weight,  it  is  said  that  after  Our 
Lord's  Ascension  Mary  presided  over  a  community  of  vir- 
gins, and  she  herself  took  the  vows  of  religion.  The  fortu- 
nate virgins  over  whom  she  ruled  are  said  to  have  been  a 
hundred  and  twenty  in  number.  St.  Martha,  sister  to 
Lazarus,  who  at  a  later  date,  the  Roman  Breviary  tells 
us,  founded  a  Congregation  of  pious  women  in  Provence, 
was  probably  one  of  that  number;  and  the  same  may  be 
surmised  of  St.  Mary  Magdalen.  What  a  happy  com- 
munity with  the  Blessed  Virgin  for  their  Superior!  It 
may  be  said  that  with  Him  she  rose  and  with  Him  also 
ascended  into  heaven,  for  subsequently  to  Our  Lord's 
Ascension,  she  led  on  earth  an  angel's  life.  Mary  the 
victim  of  God  by  her  union  to  the  adorable  sacrifice  of 
Jesus,  Mary  the  victim  of  Jesus^  Sacred  Heart!  What  a 
glorious  subject  for  our  meditation,  our  contemplation, 
our  praise,  and  fervent  admiration!  And  for  the  Relig- 
ious, what  a  sweet,  delightful,  most  attractive  object  of 
imitation ! 

Wherefore  let  the  life  of  the  soul  of  the  Religious  be  one 
of  union  with  Mary.  In  her  blessed  company  the  way  of 
crucifixion  and  death  wherein  the  will  of  her  divine  Spouse 

number,  neither  human  tongue  nor  angelic  song  has  adequately 
described  the  high  degree  of  perfection  to  which  she  rose  by  the 
practice  of  these  virtues.  We  are  always  reduced  to  contenting 
ourselves  with  saying  that  all  about  her  is  ineffable,  and  by  keeping 
silence  attest  most  eloquently  the  admiration  we  feel  for  her. 

What  we  have  said  in  regard  to  our  impotence  to  do  justice  to 
her  religious  virtues  applies  also  to  her  spirit  of  self-surrender. 
Mary  does  not  separate  herself  from  Jesus  in  the  path  of  sacrifice. 
After  Jesus,  she  is  the  most  perfect  of  victims.  With  Him  she 
offers  herself  to  the  Father;  with  Him  she  immolates  herself;  the 
dispositions  of  His  Sacred  Heart  are  hers  also. 


MARY  AFFORDS  CONSOLATION  IN  SACRIFICE.  107 

invites  her,  calls  her  to  walk,  that  way  which  is  none 
other  than  the  via  dolorosa  of  Calvary,  will  seem  easy  to 
follow.  The  sacrificial  blade,  the  glowing  embers  on  the 
altar  of  burnt-offering  will  be  less  painful  to  her  sensitive, 
her  rebel  nature  which  shrinks  from  suffering.  Death, 
complete  death  to  everything  human  will  come,  must 
inevitably  come,  but  in  the  Ught  of  Mary's  loving  smile, 
in  her  sweet  and  adorable  presence,  death  will  lose  half  its 
terrors. 

To  all  souls  who  are  consecrated  to  God  we  say:  Live 
in  union,  in  close  union  with  Mary.  But  doubtless  those 
who  have  been  professed  for  some  years  know  already 
by  happy  experience  what  this  union  is,  and  what  are  the 
wondrous  benefits  derived  from  it  by  the  faithful  children 
of  this  dear  Mother. 

We  will  therefore  address  novices  principally.  They, 
being  still  weak  and  sensitive,  ought  to  be  most  careful 
never  to  quit  their  Mother's  side.  We  shall  soon  instruct 
them  as  to  the  exact  nature  of  the  conception  which  they 
ought  to  form  of  the  novitiate;  it  is  a  solemn  and  austere, 
but  yet  a  true  one.  We  would  therefore  bid  them  hide 
themselves  lovingly  beneath  the  sheltering  mantle,  close 
to  the  heart  of  the  Mother  of  fair  love. 

Here  we  will  allow  a  novice-master  to  speak  on  this 
subject,  than  whom  no  one  has  a  better  right  to  be  heard — 
Thomas  k  Kempis.  Let  us  listen  to  him  when  he  ad- 
dresses the  youthful  Religious  whom  it  was  his  duty  to 
form  for  the  life  of  perfection.  His  words  will  enable  us 
to  pass  by  an  easy  and  pleasant  transition  to  the  second 
part  of  this  book. 

"When  you  are  in  trouble,  if  you  are  desirous  of  ob- 
taining relief,  go  to  the  Mother  of  Jesus,  go  to  Mary.  If, 
in  his  malice,  the  enemy  of  mankind  strives  to  deter  you 
from  singing  the  praises  of  Jesus  and  Mary,  be  all  the 
more  zealous  in  invoking  Mary,  saluting  Mary,  honoring 


108  MARY  AFFORDS  CONSOLATION  IN  SACRIFICE. 

jMary.  Yes,  let  it  be  your  constant  aim  to  magnify  Mary, 
bow  your  head  in  her  honor,  commend  yourself  to  her. 
Remain  in  your  cell  with  Mary,  observe  the  rule  of  silence 
with  Mary,  rejoice  with  Mary,  mourn  with  Mary,  work 
with  Mary,  watch  with  Mary,  pray  with  Mary,  walk  with 
Mary,  sit  down  to  rest  with  Mary.  Seek  Jesus  with  Mary ; 
with  Mary  carry  the  divine  Infant  in  your  arms;  with 
Jesus  and  Mary  fix  your  abode  at  Nazareth.  Go  up  with 
Mary  to  Jerusalem,  stand  with  Mary  beneath  the  cross  of 
Jesus.  With  Mary  weep  for  Jesus;  with  Mary  lay  Him 
in  the  sepulcher;  rise  again  with  Jesus  and  Mary;  ascend 
to  heaven  with  Jesus  and  Mary;  in  a  word,  desire  nothing 
else  but  to  live  and  die  in  the  company  of  Jesus  and  Mary. " 
Such  is  the  manner  in  which  the  fervent  director  in- 
structs his  pious  novices.  He  ends  his  exhortation  by 
this  devout  ejaculation:  ''Happy  the  Religious  who  re- 
gards himself  as  a  pilgrim  in  this  world,  and  whose  chief 
consolation  consists  in  making  his  heart  a  dwelling-place 
for  Jesus  and  Mary  I " 


>  part  in. 

XCbe  flovttiate. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE   EXACT   CONCEPTION  WHICH   IS  TO   BE   FORMED   OF  THE 
NOVITIATE.      THE  NOVICE  IS  A  VICTIM  OFFERED  UP  BEFORE 

GOD. 

The  religious  life  is  a  perpetual  sacrifice.  The  soul  who, 
obedient  to  the  call  of  grace,  leaves  the  world  and  presents 
herself  at  the  door  of  the  cloister,  in  asking  for  admission 
asks  for  a  lifelong  immolation  of  herself.  Perhaps  she 
scarcely  knows,  as  the  result  of  mature  reflection,  the 
magnitude  of  the  favor  she  is  soHciting;  but,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  it  is  thither,  to  that  glorious  end,  that  the  grace  of 
her  vocation  is  leading  her;  a  most  precious  grace,  of 
which  the  marvelous  beauty  will  only  be  fully  revealed 
to  her  in  heaven. 

Thus  she  enters  the  house  of  the  Order  she  has  chosen; 
^he  enters  it  as  into  a  temple,  there  to  be  a  perpetual,  a 
whole  burnt-offering. 

But  as  in  every  sacrifice  the  immolation  of  the  victim  is 
preceded  by  its  oblation,  a  special  ceremony  soon  awaits 
her  which  will  constitute  her  oblation  in  her  character  of  a 
victim.    The  religious  ceremony  to  which  we  refer  is  the 

109 


110  THE  EXACT  CONCEPTION  OF  THE  NOVITIATE, 

:;lothing,  or  taking  the  habit  which  marks  her  entrance 
into  the  novitiate.  On  that  day  she  will  become  a  victim 
offered  to  God,  and  the  period  which  elapses  before  her 
profession  is  given  to  her  for  the  purpose  of  making,  with 
due  fervor,  acts  befitting  a  victim  presented  to  the  Most 
High.  The  purport  of  those  acts  is  to  render  her  purifica- 
tion of  herself  more  and  more  thorough,  in  order  that  on 
the  day  of  her  final  consecration  to  God,  the  sacred  day  of 
her  immolation,  she  may  in  very  deed  be  worthy  of  Him 
in  whose  sight  her  holocaust  will  be  consumed. 

Such  is  the  primary  conception  to  be  formed  of  the 
novitiate.  The  reader  will  see  that  it  is  in  keeping  with 
the  view  of  the  reUgious  life  which  we  take  in  these  pages. 
But  we  shall  not  omit,  for  the  consolation  of  the  souls 
who  are  consecrated  to  God,  to  direct  attention  to  other 
points  of  similitude  between  this  initial  period  of  their 
consecration  and  the  ceremonial  of  the  sacrifices  of  the 
Old  Testament;  those  sacrifices  which  found  their  full 
accomplishment  in  Our  Lord's  sacrifice,  and  which  also 
foreshadowed  our  sacrifice  of  ourselves  made  in  union  with 
that  of  the  adorable  Victim.  Let  us  pause  a  moment  and 
consider  these  analogies. 

In  the  ancient  sacrifices  there  were  two  kinds  of  pre- 
liminary rites  before  the  actual  oblation;  the  sanctifica- 
Hon  and  the  acceptance  of  the  victim.  The  sanctification 
of  the  victim  consisted  in  the  fact  of  its  being  without  spot 
or  blemish.  That  was  an  external  sanctification.  The 
acceptance  of  the  victim  was  the  judgment  passed  upon 
it  by  the  priests,  pronouncing  it  to  be  fit  for  sacrifice. 

Now  these  two  preparations  also  form  a  part  of  relig- 
ious consecration  before  the  novitiate  is  entered.  They 
commence  when  the  secular  who  wishes  to  enter  religion 
first  takes  steps  to  obtain  admission  into  the  novitiate, 
and  are  carried  on  principally  during  the  time  that  he 
is  a  postulant.    The  first  thing  required  is  a  sort  of  sancti- 


THE  EXACT  CONCEPTION  OF  THE  NOVITIATE.  Ill 

fication  which,  Uke  that  of  the  victims  of  old,  is  partly 
exterior.  It  is  the  absence  of  any  blot,  vice,  or  defect 
either  in  the  candidate  himself,  his  character,  his  conduct, 
his  reputation,  his  past  Ufe,  or  even  in  his  family,  which 
would  be  incompatible  with  the  dignity  of  the  religious 
state,  or  prejudicial  to  the  respect  in  which  it  ought  to  be 
held. 

After  this  sort  of  initial  sanctification  has  been  certified, 
the  acceptance  of  the  postulant  follows.  The  Superiors 
pronounce  a  favorable  judgment  as  to  his  fitness  for  com- 
munity life,  and  the  habit  is  given  him;  a  ceremony 
which,  as  has  already  been  said,  may  be  termed  his  obla- 
tion in  the  character  oi  a  victim. 

Thus  his  sacrifice  commences,  a  sacrifice  which  ought 
to  be  perpetual.  The  word  perpetual  reminds  us  of  a 
sacrifice  of  the  Old  Law,  also  so  called.  About  this  a 
few  words  must  be  said,  they  are  not  foreign  to  our  sub- 
ject. This  is  how  God  Himself  prescribed  and  ordained 
the  ritual  of  this  sacrifice: 

^' These  are  the  sacrifices  which  you  shall  offer:  two 
lambs  of  a  year  old  without  blemish  every  day  for  the 
perpetual  holocaust;  one  you  shall  offer  in  the  morning, 
and  the  other  in  the  evening;  and  the  tenth  part  of  an 
ephi  of  flour,  which  shall  be  tempered  with  the  purest 
oil  of  the  measure  of  the  fourth  part  of  a  hin;  and  for  a 
libation  you  shall  offer  of  wine  the  fourth  part  of  a  hin. 
And  you  shall  offer  the  other  lamb  in  like  manner  in  the 
evening  according  to  all  the  rites  of  the  morning  sacrifice, 
...  an  oblation  of  most  sweet  odor  to  the  Lord  "  (Numb, 
xxviii.  3,  5,  8). 

Such  are  the  words  and  commands  of  God,  in  the  Book 
of  Numbers.  It  would  not  be  without  interest  to  examine 
the  interpretation  given  of  them  by  biblical  exegetee; 
but  lest  this  should  take  up  too  much  space,  we  will 
recall  the   substance   of   their  conmients.    All   agree  in 


112  THE  EXACT  CONCEPTION  OF  THE  NOVITIATE. 

saying  that  these  two  lambs  typify  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christy 
who  offered  Himself  in  the  morning  of  His  life,  i.e.,  on 
the  fortieth  day  after  His  birth,  in  the  Temple  at  Jerusa- 
lem by  the  hands  of  His  blessed  Mother,  and  in  the  evening, 
that  is,  at  the  close  of  His  earthly  existence,  on  the  altar 
of  the  cross  as  a  sacrifice  of  sweetest  savor. 

The  interpretation  of  this  passage  in  its  application 
to  Our  Lord  is  strictly  correct;  but  can  it  with  equal 
justice  be  applied  to  the  soul  who  gives  herself  to  God 
in  the  religious  state?  Undoubtedly  it  can,  and  the  com- 
mentators of  Holy  Scripture  assert  this  confidently.  They 
declare  that  the  lamb  that  was  slain  in  the  morning  is 
an  accurate  type  of  the  generous  soul  who  in  the  spring- 
tide of  her  life  consecrates  herself  to  God,  a  living  sacrifice, 
because,  while  fife  is  yet  young,  nothing  is  wanting  to 
make  the  oblation  perfect;  the  eye  sees  further  into  the 
divine  mysteries,  the  ear  is  more  attentive  to  the  voice 
of  God,  the  feet  are  more  prompt  to  execute  His  will. 
We  quote  the  words  of  Hugh  of  St.  Victor. 

Such  is  the  fervent  novice,  and  such,  we  repeat,  is  the 
first  idea  he  should  form  of  the  novitiate.  He  has  presented 
his  oblation,  he  is  the  antitype  of  the  lamb  of  the  Old 
Testament  slain  in  the  morning,  and  the  sacrifice  he  now 
begins  to  offer  to  the  Lord  is  a  perpetual  sacrifice,  only 
ending  with  his  life,  or  rather  only  finding  its  final  con- 
summation, its  supreme  perfection,  in  heaven. 

But  the  incipient  idea  of  the  novitiate  in  the  mind  of 
the  young  novice  would  be  incomplete  were  we  not  to 
dwell  more  upon  what  he  has  to  do  during  this  precious 
time,  the  most  precious  of  all.  For  the  experience  of 
every  Religious,  equally  with  the  teaching  of  the  masters 
of  the  spiritual  life,  concurs  in  testifying  to  the  truth  of 
the  saying:  As  is  the  novice,  so  is  the  professed  monk. 
By  this  is  meant  that  if  a  novice  passes  his  noviceship 
fervently,  there  is  every  ground  for  hoping  that  the  years 


THE  EXACT  CONCEPTION  OF   THE  NOVITIATE.  113 

following  upon  his  profession  will  also  be  characterized 
by  genuine,  unfailing  fervor.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  he 
unhappily  spends  the  time  in  a  state  of  tepidity  and  half- 
heartedness,  his  whole  subsequent  hfe  will  be  affected  by  it, 
and  very  often  it  will  result  in  violations  of  the  Rule  and 
of  the  vows  which  will  give  scandal  to  the  Community 
and  seriously  imperil  the  eternal  salvation  of  him  who 
is  the  cause  of  the  scandal. 

Alas!  not  unfrequently  we  see  a  novice  fall  away  from 
his  first  fervor;  but  of  those  who  are  tepid  one  scarcely 
meets  with  one  in  a  hundred  who  makes  a  sincere  and 
thorough  change  after  his  profession,  and  becomes  later 
on  an  exemplary  Religious. 

Thus  we  see  that  it  is  a  great  misfortune  to  make  a  bad 
noviceship;  it  is  a  loss  which  can  seldom  be  retrieved. 

And  supposing  that  in  some  religious  House  the  Superior 
should  be  so  imprudent,  so  negligent,  so  sadly  inexperienced 
as  to  make  light  of  the  important  business  of  forming 
the  novices,  it  may  confidently  be  predicted  that  ruin — 
inevitable  and  complete — ^will  overtake  that  House.  The 
prosperity  or  the  deterioration  of  a  convent  depends  upon 
the  manner  in  which  the  novices  are  trained.  All  men 
of  experience  and  those  who  have  written  on  this  subject 
say  the  same.  But  since  we  are  not  writing  for  Superiors, 
but  merely  with  the  view  of  instructing  novices,  we  will 
proceed  to  impart  to  them  a  correct  idea  of  the  disposi- 
tions in  which  they  ought  to  begin  their  noviceship. 


CHAPTER  II. 

ON  THE  FIRST  DISPOSITION  INDISPENSABLE  TO  THE  POSTU- 
LANT  AND    TO    THE    NOVICE  ON    ENTERING  THE  NOVITIATE. 

The  secular  who  has  the  happiness  of  bemg  admitted 
into  a  rehgious  House  must,  whatever  be  his  age,  his 
rank,  his  education,  his  virtues,  be  fully  persuaded  that 
there  is  much  in  him  needing  reformation  and  reconstruc- 
tion. Certainly  this  opening  assertion  is  a  strong  ex- 
pression, and  at  first  sight  seems  somewhat  severe.  But 
it  is  not  so  in  reahty;  it  is  simply  the  result  of  observ^a- 
tion  and  experience,  and  conveys  a  very  useful  lesson  to 
men  of  good  will  who  are  entering  on  the  way  of  perfection. 
It  has  often  been  said  that  whatever  the  virtues  one  may 
appear  to  have  acquired  in  the  world,  it  is  impossible  to 
judge  of  their  worth  until  they  are  tested  by  the  trials 
of  the  novitiate.  Take  some  pious  person  who,  before 
going  into  religion,  was  esteemed  a  saint  in  the  place 
where  she  lived,  but  who,  when  once  she  has  joined  a 
Community,  appears  to  be  a  mass  of  faults.  The  reason 
of  this  is  plain.  The  world — or  rather  a  certain  class  of 
persons  in  the  world  who  only  judge  by  what  they  see — 
are  edified  by  a  modest,  recollected  demeanor,  a  gentle 
manner,  the  practise  of  works  of  piety,  of  charity,  of 
active  zeal;  and  in  all  good  faith,  the  world  invests  such 
persons,  who  certainly  give  edification,  with  an  aureola 
of  sanctity.  But  solid  virtue  does  not  consist  in  appear- 
ances. That  which  constitutes  its  real  vitality  and  vigor 
is  self-abnegation,  the  surrender  of  our  opinion,  our  judg- 
ment, our  will. 

114 


THE  FIRST  DISPOSITION  115 

Now  it  is,  above  all,  this  simple,  constant,  humble,  all- 
embracing  abnegation  of  self  that  will  be  required  of  you 
in  the  novitiate,  or  at  any  rate  it  is  this  that  you  will  be 
trained  to  practise,  in  season  and  out  of  season.  This 
task  is  truly  a  mortal  struggle.  Nature  enters  upon  her 
last  agony,  and  must  eventually  give  way  and  expire. 

You  were  not  accustomed  to  that  sort  of  thing  in  the 
world.  Alas  for  you,  your  experience  was  just  the  con- 
trary. Unconsciously,  no  doubt,  to  yourself,  yet  most 
probably,  you  were  by  no  means  completely  indifferent 
to  the  consideration  shown  you,  the  marks  of  esteem  and 
respect  of  which  you  were  the  object,  the  gratifying 
speeches  addressed  to  you;  and  self-love — all  the  time 
unknown  to  you,  I  am  ready  to  acknowledge — fed  and 
fattened  upon  all  this.  So  you  went  into  religion  sur- 
rounded by  the  halo  of  a  reputation  for  piety  out  of  the 
coramon.  Now  all  this,  I  repeat,  prepares  for  you  a  task 
of  no  slight  magnitude  perhaps,  a  task  of  interior  destruc- 
tion and  reconstruction. 

Let  the  novice,  if  he  is  desirous  of  avoiding  the  terrible 
mistakes  and  disappointments  of  which  the  devil  will  not 
fail  to  take  advantage  for  the  purpose  of  discouraging  and 
disheartening  him,  even  perchance  causing  him  to  lose  his 
vocation,  let  him,  I  say,  be  sure  to  tell  himself,  to  impress 
on  himself,  whoever  he  may  be,  from  the  very  outset, 
nay,  even  before  he  enters  the  cloister,  that  there  are  in 
himself  a  great  many  false  ideas,  erroneous  views  to  be  set 
right,  human  and  wholly  natural  proclivities  to  be  cor- 
rected, habits  to  be  broken  off  or  modified,  faults  of  char- 
acter to  be  amended;  in  fact  a  thorough  conversion,  a 
reform  of  the  whole  man  to  be  undertaken,  and  success- 
fully carried  out,  in  the  course  of  time,  with  the  assistance 
of  divine  grace. 

We  say  intentionally  "in  the  course  of  time  and  with 
the  assistance  of  divine  grace,"  because  of  a  truth  this 


116  THE  FIRST  DISPOSITION. 

work  can  only  be  accomplished  by  degrees,  on  account  of 
its  extreme  difficulty,  and  no  one  will  doubt  that  grace 
from  on  high  is  absolutely  necessary  for  us.  But  if  it 
please  God,  grace  will  be  given  us,  and  time,  which  is  in 
itself  a  grace,  and  we  shall  succeed  in  the  grand  enterprise 
before  us. 

What  is  of  paramount  importance  is  to  be  thoroughly 
convinced  of  this  initial  truth:  My  noviceship  must  effect 
a  complete,  a  radical  change  in  me.  It  is  a  crucible  into 
which  I  am  to  be  cast,  in  order  that  my  present  shape  may 
be  destroyed,  annihilated,  and  I  may  come  out  entirely 
transformed,  made  after  the  image  of  Jesus  Christ,  my 
one,  my  divine  Model. 

It  must  be  acknowledged  that  regarded  from  this  point 
of  view  the  religious  life  appears  austere,  a  path  thickly 
set  with  crosses  and  sacrifices.  Yet  this  point  of  view  is 
the  only  true  one.  Listen  to  the  words  of  Father  Bourda- 
loue,  one  of  the  most  skilled  masters  in  the  science  of  the 
saints.    He  says : 

''The  great  advantage  of  the  religious  life  is  the  self- 
abnegation  it  demands  from  the  Christian,  the  mortifica- 
tion of  the  senses,  the  carrying  of  the  cross;  this  is  the 
aspect  under  which  it  must  be  regarded.  To  take  any 
other  view  of  it,  is  a  departure  from  the  truth,  and  conse- 
quently a  delusion.  I  do  not  wish  anything  to  be  con- 
cealed from  a  young  person  who  entertains  the  purpose  of 
retiring  into  a  religious  House,  who  feels  herself  called  by 
God  to  take  this  step.  I  would  not  have  anything  dis- 
guised by  being  depicted  in  bright  but  deceptive  colors; 
let  her  see  all  that  is  entailed  by  her  choice,  set  before  her 
everything  in  its  true  light,  and  point  out  to  her  the  thorns 
wherewith  the  way  she  is  entering  is  strewn.  For,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  what  else  is  the  religious  life  but  the  Gospel 
carried  into  practise,  practised  as  perfectly  as  possible? 
And  what  is  the  Gospel  itself  if  not  a  rule  that  enforces 


THE  FIRST  DISPOSITION.  117 

self-renunciation,  continual  warfare  against  one's  self,  the 
death,  the  destruction  of  self? 

''I  shall  be  told  that  thoughts  such  as  these  will  tend  to 
discourage,  to  repel  the  aspirant;  I  reply  that,  on  the 
contrary,  they  may,  they  ought  to  be  the  means  of  fur- 
nishing her  with  the  motives  most  calculated  to  induce 
her  to  take  the  resolution  and  to  strengthen  her  in  that 
resolution.  Why  so?  Because  she  thus  learns  to  value 
the  rehgious  state  for  the  very  reasons  that  make  it  of 
infinite  value  as  being  a  state  of  sanctification,  a  state  of 
perfection,  a  state  of  salvation,  a  state  wherein  the  soul 
may  accumulate  daily  fresh  merits  for  eternity,  and  lay 
up  for  herself  new  crowns  in  heaven." 

These  are  weighty  words.  Let  us  beware  of  differing 
from  the  opinion  they  express.  All  the  founders  of  Orders, 
without  a  single  exception,  formed  their  novices  on  these 
lines,  and  thus  they  were  successful  in  raising  the  struc- 
ture of  their  Institute  on  a  firm  and  solid  basis.  The 
Fathers  of  the  desert,  in  particular,  those  men  of  renown 
who  so  thoroughly  understood  the  religious  life,  whose 
conception  of  it  was  so  enlightened,  and  above  all  so  prac- 
tical, were  admirable  in  this  respect.  We  will  not  quote 
either  their  teaching  or  their  examples  now,  as  we  intend 
to  do  so  more  amply  in  the  course  of  this  work.  But  we 
really  beUeve  that  one  must  look  back  to  them  for  a  true 
understanding  of  the  spirit  of  religion  in  its  unalloyed 
purity.  Since  their  day  the  reUgious  life  has  been  noth- 
ing more  than  a  copy  of  their  actions,  of  their  life.  The 
reader  has  already  heard  what  the  gentle  St.  Francis  of 
Sales  said  to  a  postulant:  "You  are  now  wholly  dead  to 
the  world,  and  the  world  is  wholly  dead  to  you.  This  is, 
however,  only  the  first  stage  in  the  sacrificial  process;  two 
more  remain — one  is  that  of  flaying  the  victim,  the  other 
is  that  of  consuming  it,  reducing  it  to  ashes." 

The  novice  will,  therefore,  do  well  to  present  himself  to 


118  THE  FIRST  DISPOSITION, 

his  Superiors  and  say  with  all  sincerity  and  simplicity  of 
soul:  ''Here  I  am;  from  this  time  forth  I  have  neither 
will  nor  wish;  I  am  like  a  lump  of  clay  which  you  can 
mold  as  you  please,  which  in  your  hands  will  lose  its 
present  shape  and  take  a  new  form,  whatever  you  may 
choose  to  give  it.  I  am  like  a  Uttle  child  whom  you  can 
teach  anything  and  everything  you  desire.  Your  coun- 
sels, your  corrections,  your  approbation  will  constitute  the 
one  rule  of  my  conduct.  I  wish  to  forget  all  my  previous 
knowledge,  to  learn  all  over  again,  and  I  place  no  reliance 
on  anything  I  do.  Here  I  am,  ready  to  do  the  will  of 
God,  and  that  alone,  under  your  guidance;  and  I  trust  in 
the  fatherly  providence  of  Him  who  will  give  you  the 
light  necessary  to  make  me  go  forward  in  the  way  He  has 
marked  out." 

Such  should  be  the  language  of  the  novice,  such  the 
faith  that  should  animate  him.  He  says:  Ecce  venio! 
Behold  I  come,  to  do  Thy  will,  O  God.  So  spoke  the 
divine  Victim,  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  mystery  of 
His  oblation,  so  full  of  depth  and  meaning.  We  have 
already  said  how  meet  and  right  it  is  for  the  novice  to  bear 
in  mind  that  mystery  of  self-effacement,  the  perfect,  un- 
qualified self-surrender  of  that  oblation.  And  since  the 
period  of  his  novitiate,  if  we  consider  the  spirit  befitting  it, 
answers  to  the  spirit  in  which  Our  Lord  made  the  oblation 
of  Himself,  the  continual  posture  of  the  novice  should  be 
one  of  self-annihilation.  He  ought  constantly  to  repeat: 
Behold  I  come,  to  do  Thy  will,  O  God;  he  ought  con- 
stantly to  look  on  himself  as  a  victim  offered  to  the  divine 
Majesty,  for  the  destruction  in  soul  and  body  of  all  that  is 
displeasing  to  the  God  of  all  sanctity  and  to  cultivate 
the  dispositions  which  will  be  most  conducive  to  the  glory 
of  Him  who  is  the  beginning  and  the  end,  the  center  of  his 
life. 


CHAPTER  III. 

ON  SELF-RENUNCIATION. 

It  may,  perchance,  strike  the  young  novice  that  we 
are  somewhat  premature  in  dealing  with  a  subject  which 
in  itself  seems  to  imply  a  certain  degree  of  perfection. 
In  one  sense,  it  is  true,  self-renunciation  is  peculiarly  a 
characteristic  of  the  perfect;  it  may  almost  be  said  that 
in  one  respect  it  actually  is  perfection.  But  this  virtue, 
like  every  other,  is  only  acquired  by  degrees,  little  by 
little,  and  it  will  be  so  with  us.  And  since  Our  Lord  said 
to  all  men,  as  St.  Luke  expressly  states:  Dicebat  autem 
ad  omnes,  He  said  to  all,  "If  any  man  will  come  after  Me, 
let  him  deny  himself"  (Luke  ix.  23),  thus  specifying 
renunciation  and  self-denial  as  the  first  condition  of  walk- 
ing in  His  steps,  it  is  only  natural  that  we  should  treat 
of  it  in  the  commencement  of  the  instructions  we  address 
to  novices,^  who  have  every  right  to  be  regarded  as  those 
happy  disciples  of  Our  Lord,  who,  having  abandoned  the 
world,  walk  con  amore  in  the  footsteps  of  their  divine 
Master. 

^Father  Surin,  writing  to  a  Mistress  of  Novices,  says:  "They 
must  be  early  accustomed  to  give  up  their  own  will,  to  die  to  their 
passions,  to  raise  their  hearts  above  creatures,  and  made  to  feel 
ashamed  of  all  the  instincts  of  nature.  This  renunciation  will  lead 
direct  to  charity,  and  render  them  obedient  to  the  impulses  of 
grace,  for  there  is  no  shorter  route  whereby  to  arrive  at  the  love  of 
Our  Lord  than  the  mortification  of  all  our  natural  propensities, 
our  desires,  our  tastes,  our  pleasures." 

119 


120  ON  SELF-RENUNCIATION. 

Here  there  are  three  things  that  must  be  attentively 
considered  and  thoroughly  apprehended  in  order  to  form 
a  correct  idea  of  the  virtue  of  self-renunciation.  First 
of  all,  it  is  essential  to  know  what  is  imderstood  by  this 
self,  this  ego,  which  has  to  be  renounced;  in  the  second 
place  to  ascertain  accurately  what  are  the  distinctive 
characteristics  by  which  it  makes  its  presence  manifest 
within  us;  finally,  to  learn  the  way  whereby  to  give  it 
its  death-blow,  and  that  is  by  the  practice  of  the  virtue 
of  self-denial. 

Let  the  young  novice,  therefore,  pay  close  attention  to 
this  subject;  it  is  one  of  very  great  importance.  It  is 
utterly  impossible  to  advance  a  single  step  in  the  spiritual 
life  without  the  knowledge  of  what  we  are  about  to  ex- 
pound, without  love  for  the  means  which  we  are  about  to 
point  out  for  the  acquisition  of  so  indispensable  a  virtue.  In 
fact,  without  self-renunciation  what  would  be  the  meaning 
of  that  title  of  victim  which  we  bear  in  virtue  of  our  obla- 
tion?   It  would  only  be  a  great,  a  grievous  mockery. 

1.  What  is  the  self  which  we  are  bound  to  renounce? 
The  word  self  signifies  a  certain  life  within  us  which  is, 
to  some  extent,  a  part  of  ourselves,  and  which  we  ought 
to  exterminate.     Let  us  explain  this. 

In  every  man  and  woman  there  are  three  several  lives: 
the  natural  life,  the  supernatural  life,  and  the  life  of  self. 
The  natural  life  is  the  life  of  the  senses,  by  which  we  come 
and  go,  we  see  the  objects  around  us,  etc.;  it  is  also  the  life 
of  the  intellect,  inasmuch  as  its  faculties  (such  as  the 
understanding,  will,  judgment,  resolution,  etc.)  are  em- 
ployed in  a  wholly  natural  manner,  apart  from  the  super- 
natural succor  of  grace.  It  is  called  the  natural  hfe  be- 
cause it  performs  the  acts  proper  to  it  by  the  natural 
means  wherewith  God  has  endowed  us,  i.e.,  the  organs 
of  sense  and  the  faculties  of  the  mind.  We  possess  this 
life  when  we  are  born  into  the  world. 


ON  SELF-RENUNCIATION.  121 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  our  natural  life  is  not  that 
which  we  are  bound  to  destroy,  for  to  do  so  would  be  to 
commit  the  grievous  crime  of  suicide. 

There  is  within  us  a  second  life  as  real  and  actual  as 
the  first,  but  the  existence  of  which  can  not  be  verified 
by  the  testimony  of  the  senses;  it  is  the  supernatural  fife, 
which  we  received  at  our  baptism  and  which  is  also  called 
sanctifying  grace,  or  the  life  of  Christ  in  our  souls.  Our 
Lord  referred  to  this  life  when  He  said:  "I  am  come  that 
they  might  have  life  and  may  have  it  more  abundantly^' 
(John  X.  10).  St.  Paul  speaks  of  it  frequently  to  the 
faithful  in  his  epistles;  we  can  not  attempt  to  quote  the 
numerous  passages.  Of  himself  he  says:  "I  live,  now 
not  I,  but  Christ  liveth  in  me"  (Gal.  ii.  20).  This  divine 
life,  which  St.  Peter  designates  as  "fellowship  with  God" 
is,  therefore,  really  within  us,  if  we  have  preserved  our 
baptismal  grace,  or  if,  having  lost  it  by  mortal  sin,  we  have 
recovered  it  by  the  Sacrament  of  Penance.  And  as  life 
of  every  kind  makes  its  existence  known  by  inward  move- 
ments and  outward  acts,  so  the  life  of  grace,  the  life  of 
Jesus  Christ  within  us,  manifests  itself  by  inward  desires, 
an  attraction  for  matters  of  faith,  the  maxims  of  the 
Gospel,  Christian  virtues,  and  outward  supernatural  acts 
in  keeping  with  those  inward  inclinations. 

Happy  the  souls  who  live  by  this  holy  and  divine  life 
in  unbroken  continuity!  All  their  actions  are  meritorious 
and  worthy  of  Him  who  died  that  we  might  have  life, 
this  supernatural  life  of  which  we  speak. 

It  would  be  absurd,  nay,  impious,  to  say  that  this  most 
excellent  life  is  the  one  which  must  be  destroyed  in  us. 
We  do  destroy  it  if  we  have  the  misfortune  to  commit 
mortal  sin,  and  this  is  so  stupendous  a  misfortune  that  no 
physical  affliction  that  could  befall  us  on  earth  is  to  be 
compared  to  it. 

Finally,  there  is  within  us  a  third  life,  an  evil  life,  the 


122  ON  SELF-RENUNCIATION. 

source  and  principle  of  bad  inclinations  and  bad  deeds. 
St.  Paul  alludes  to  this  life  when  he  congratulates  the 
faithful  on  having  extinguished  it  within  them.  "You 
are  dead,"  he  says — that  is,  dead  to  the  hfe  of  sin — "and 
your  hfe  [the  new  life  of  grace]  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God  " 
(Col.  iii.  3).  And  elsewhere  he  says:  "For  we  that  are 
dead  to  sin  how  shall  we  live  any  longer  therein?"  (Rom. 
vi.  2.)  Again,  he  speaks  of  it  under  different  designa- 
tions; he  calls  it  the  "law  of  our  members,"  because 
being  utterly  corrupt  this  life  seems  to  act  principally 
through  the  instrumentality  of  the  flesh;  he  calls  it  the 
old  man,  because  it  exists  within  us  previous  to  our  bap- 
tism and  has  its  germ  in  original  sin.  This  is  the  reason 
why  this  baneful  life  is  also  spoken  of  as  the  hfe  of  Adam, 
as  the  supernatural  life  is  termed  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ. 

All  this  is  unquestionably  true.  Baptism  has  set  us 
free  from  original  sin,  but  it  has  not  taken  from  us  the 
tendency  to  evil  which  is  one  consequence  of  original 
sin,  and  this  proneness  to  evil  is  precisely  what  reveals 
the  existence  within  us  of  this  third  life  which  struggles 
against  the  life  of  grace,  ever  striving  to  subdue  and  anni- 
hilate it,  whereas  it  is  itself  that  must  be  destroyed  and 
extirpated,  if  possible,  with  the  help  of  divine  grace. 

But  why  is  this  evil  life,  which  we  are  bound  to  destroy, 
this  life  of  sin  (if  it  may  be  so  called  on  account  of  the 
works  it  produces),  this  fatal  life,  why  is  it  called  the  life 
oi  self? 

The  reason  is  this.  Because  just  as  the  life  of  grace 
which  was  imparted  to  us  in  baptism  leads  us  to  make 
God  our  center  and  final  end,  so  that  all  our  actions  are 
directed  to  His  good  pleasure  and  His  glory,  in  like  manner 
the  life  of  sin,  the  life  of  the  old  man,  the  life  of  Adam 
leads  us  to  make  ourselves  our  center  and  our  end,  and 
in  all  things  to  seek  our  own  gratification  and  glory.  But 
this  will  be  more  fully  explained  by  what  follows. 


ON  SELF-RENUNCIATION.  123 

2.  The  general  characteristics  of  the  life  of  self  which 
we  ought  to  renounce. 

These  general  characteristics  are  self-love,  self-will,  and 
attachment  to  one's  own  opinion.  This  means  that  the 
life  of  Adam  within  us  makes  its  presence  known  by  three 
propensities  which  it  creates  in  us.  It  leads  us  to  love 
ourselves,  to  desire  nothing  but  what  is  pleasing  to  our- 
selves, and  to  cling  obstinately  to  our  own  opinions  and 
our  own  judgment. 

The  first  destructive  characteristic  is  self-love.  Self- 
love  induces  us  to  conceive  a  high  esteem  of  ourselves,  to 
think  all  that  we  do  is  right,  to  desire  the  good  opinion 
of  others,  and  do  all  we  can  to  avoid  lessening  that  good 
opinion;  to  give  way  to  sadness  and  dejection  when  we 
encounter  the  humiliations  inevitable  in  this  life,  etc. 
It  also  leads  us  to  seek  our  own  gratification  in  everything : 
in  our  thoughts,  in  giving  free  play  to  our  imaginations,  our 
recollections;  in  our  occupations,  our  likes  and  dislikes, 
our  relation  to  others,  etc.  It  is  self,  always  self,  on  which 
our  thoughts  are  centered,  and  which  we  seek  to  satisfy 
and  gratify. 

The  second  characteristic  is  self-will.  This  inspires  us 
with  an  habitual  abhorrence  of  restraint,  an  inherent  aver- 
sion to  all  authority.  If  we  love  our  Superiors,  we  love 
them  for  what  they  are  in  themselves,  their  pleasing  quali- 
ties, their  virtues;  we  do  not  love  the  authority  with 
which  they  are  invested.  If  we  like  some  particular  Rule 
or  the  practice  of  some  mortification,  we  do  so — perhaps 
unconsciously  to  ourselves — because  they  are  self -chosen; 
those  that  are  imposed  upon  us  are  far  more  difficult  to 
accept;   sometimes  we  find  their  yoke  intolerable. 

The  third  characteristic  is  attachment  to  one's  own 
opinion.  The  intellect  is  the  highest  part  of  man,  it  may 
be  said  to  be  the  citadel  of  self.  It  will  stand  out  when 
all  else  surrenders.     We  submit  our  external  actions  to 


124  ON  SELF-RENUNCIATION. 

the  government  of  others;  we  give  up  our  will,  but  the 
mind  retains  its  independence.  This  is  the  point  which 
must  be  attacked  by  fire  and  sword,  for  if  this  fortress 
is  carried,  the  victory  will  be  complete,  and  divine  grace 
will  reign  in  us  and  dominate  all  its  foes.  This  destruc- 
tion, this  death,  will  be  our  triumph,  and  we  shall  be 
enabled  to  say  with  St.  Paul:  "For  to  me  to  live  is  Christ, 
and  to  die  is  gain"  (Phil.  i.  21). 

3.  How  to  effect  this  complete  death  of  the  ego  which 
is  perfect  self-abnegation. 

It  must  be  acknowledged  that  this  is  the  work  of  a  life- 
time. Every  one  has  heard  what  St.  Francis  of  Sales  said 
concerning  self-love:  "We  ought  to  consider  ourselves 
very  fortunate  if  it  dies  a  quarter  of  an  hour  before  we 
do."  Oh,  what  prolonged,  what  painful  exertion  is  re- 
quired to  eventually  compass  this  death!  It  is  a  long, 
an  arduous  task,  and  must,  at  the  same  time,  be  carried 
on  without  cessation  or  intermission.  It  is  more  easy 
than  one  would  think  to  lose  in  a  single  moment  all  that 
has  been  gained  in  long  months  of  earnest  endeavor. 
Now,  more  than  at  any  time,  the  Religious  appears  in 
the  light  of  a  victim  continually  dying,  and  in  virtue  of 
the  generosity,  the  persistency  of  his  self-immolation, 
enabled  to  say  with  St.  Paul:  "I  die  daily"  (I.  Cor.  xv.  31). 

It  behooves  the  young  novice  after  being  offered  to 
God  on  the  day  of  his  clothing,  thenceforth  to  look  upon 
sacrifices  as  his  daily  bread,  to  apply  himself  to  this  work 
of  destruction.  We  have  said  that  it  is  a  lifelong  work, 
but  the  novitiate  is  the  most  favorable  time  for  com- 
mencing it  and  carrying  it  on  vigorously.  Well  is  it  for 
the  novices  to  be  duly  impressed  with  this  truth  1  A 
thousand  opportunities  are  presented  to  them,  a  thousand 
means  of  assistance  are  given  them;  besides,  their  position 
of  inferiority,  their  good  will,  the  grace  of  their  vocation, 
more  apparent  and  more  eifficacious   than   any — all  this 


ON  SELF-RENUNCIATION.  125 

answers  well  to  the  end  in  view,  the  death  of  self.  Let 
them  be  faithful  and  remember  that  at  any  cost  they 
must  push  forward  this  most  important  work.  It  will 
be  too  late  to  begin  when  the  novitiate  is  at  an  end;  un- 
questionably, fatally  too  late!  Daily  experience  warrants 
us  in  asserting  this,  as  well  as  the  authority  of  all  masters 
of  the  spiritual  life. 

Mortification  is  the  usual  means  whereby  we  attain  to 
the  death  of  self.  The  word  mortification  is  derived  from 
the  Latin  mors,  death,  and  in  the  sense  in  which  we  employ 
it,  mortification  is  synonymous  with  renunciation.  We 
prefer  to  make  use  of  the  latter  word  because  it  has  a 
more  limited  meaning  and  expresses  better  the  acts  whereby 
to  accomplish  the  destruction  within  us  of  self,  our  great 
enemy. 

But  the  virtue  of  renunciation  calls  to  her  aid,  in  accom- 
plishing this  conquest,  several  other  virtues,  by  means  of 
which  she  attains  the  perfection  peculiar  to  her,  which 
answer  to  the  general  characteristics  of  this  self  which 
we  pointed  out,  viz.:  self-love,  self-will,  and  attachment 
to  one's  own  judgment.  Thus  himiility  is  instrumental 
in  destroying  self-love,  obedience  effects  the  death  of 
self-will,  and  simpUcity  that  of  attachment  to  our  own 
judgment. 

For  this  reason  we  will  proceed  to  discuss  these  several 
virtues  in  the  following  chapters;  but  to  these  three 
virtues  we  must  add  some  other  very  important  ones  which 
will  render  them  complete,  and  will  assist  the  vaUant 
novice  to  arrive  at  a  perfect  practice  of  the  grand  virtue 
of  self-renunciation. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

ON    HUMILITY. 

We  will  now  grapple  resolutely  with  the  means  which 
assist  us  in  dying  to  self,  and  first  of  all  consider  humility, 
which  gives  the  death-blow  to  self-love.  It  is  a  grand 
subject.  Thoroughly  to  understand  and  appreciate  it 
is  already  a  considerable  step  in  the  right  direction,  and 
affords  a  sort  of  warranty  that  the  novice  will  go  on  till 
the  goal  is  reached,  that  is,  until,  with  the  help  of  divine 
grace,  he  practises  this  virtue  itself  really  and  truly. 

How  much  might  not  be  said  about  humility,  its  own 
intrinsic  excellence,  the  glory  it  gives  to  God,  the  in- 
numerable benefits  it  confers  on  the  soul!  Were  all  that 
the  saints  have  said  on  this  sublime  subject  to  be  collected, 
it  would  form  one  of  the  most  edifying  of  volumes.  How 
admirably  the  Fathers  of  the  Church  write  about  it; 
what  beautiful  passages  we  meet  with  in  the  discourses 
that  fell  from  the  lips  of  the  ancient  hermits  of  the  desert! 
And  not  to  go  back  to  times  so  remote,  how  much  have 
modern  writers  done  to  make  it  known,  loved,  and  prac- 
tised. The  most  admirable  book  ever  written  by  man, 
the  ^'  Imitation  of  Christ,"  speaks  of  no  other  virtue  so 
frequently  and  so  enthusiastically.  In  short,  it  is  uni- 
versally acknowledged  to  be  the  queen  of  virtues.  One 
of  the  ancient  anchorites  pronounced  it  to  be  divine,  and 

St.  Francis  of  Sales  told  the  nuns  of  the  Visitation  that 

126 


ON  HUMILITY.  127 

he  desired  that  they  should  be  perfect  in  humility  rather 
than  in  any  other  virtue. 

All  religious  Rules  and  Constitutions  commend  this 
virtue,  and  urge  its  cultivation  in  the  strongest  language; 
the  novice  need  only  read  and  meditate  upon  what  is 
said  about  it  for  the  instruction  of  his  own  Order.  We 
will  state,  in  order  to  assist  him  in  understanding  and 
meditating  upon  it,  what  is,  properly  speaking,  the  nature 
and  essence  of  humility.  Let  him  listen  attentively,  for 
therein  lies  the  basis  of  the  spiritual  edifice,  and  if  its 
foundations  are  not  firm  and  solid,  it  is  vain  to  attempt 
to  raise  that  edifice  later  on;  he  will  only  be  building  upon 
the  sand. 

Humility  is  the  virtue  which  puts  us  in  our  proper  place 
in  regard  to  God  and  to  our  fellow-creatures,  and  which 
at  the  same  time  makes  us  delight  in  this  place  as  the  one 
which  is  really  ours,  and  the  only  one  suitable  for  us. 
Then  it  awakens  within  us  the  desire  that  both  God  and 
our  fellow-creatures,  by  their  action  in  our  regard,  should 
help  us  to  take  that  place  and  remain  in  it  permanently. 

Now  that  place  is  nothingness  and  abasement.  Conse- 
quently what  befits  us,  what  is  most  just  and  right,  is  that 
the  treatment  we  receive  from  God  Himself  and  our  fellow- 
creatures  should  tend  continually  to  keep  us  in  oblivion, 
or  make  us  sensible  of  the  contempt  they  feel  for  us. 

This  is  a  truth  terrible  to  our  pride,  repugnant  to  the 
self-love  inherent  in  our  nature,  to  our  craving  for  promi- 
nence and  esteem,  yet  it  is  a  fundamental,  an  essential 
truth,  which  we  ought  to  keep  ever  before  our  eyes.  We 
shall  proceed  to  prove  this  beyond  the  possibility  of  doubt. 

In  ourselves,  of  ourselves  we  are  nothing,  and  conse- 
quently it  is  just  that  God,  by  His  dealings  with  us,  and 
creatures  by  their  manner  of  acting  toward  us,  should 
leave  us  in  obUvion. 


128  ON  HUMILITY. 

What  were  we  thirty,  forty,  fifty  years  ago?  Not  so 
much  as  a  grain  of  sand,  for  we  were  nothing,  absolutely 
nothing,  and  as  we  did  not  even  exist,  there  could  not  be 
in  us  any  strength,  any  principle  of  activity,  by  which 
we  could  become  anything;  for  nothingness  has  not  and 
can  not  have  any  virtue  or  vital  energy. 

This,  then,  is  our  origin,  our  true,  unquestionable,  essen- 
tial origin,  the  necessary  origin  of  every  creature;  nothing- 
ness, non-existence. 

But  it  is  equally  incontestable  that  now  we  are  some- 
thing. Almighty  God,  the  Author  of  all  things,  the 
eternal,  sovereign  Lord,  has  called  us  into  being;  we  are 
His  work,  He  has  made  us,  our  very  self,  our  body,  with 
its  organs,  our  soul  with  its  intellectual  and  moral  faculties. 
And  this  thing  that  God  has  made  is  indeed  something; 
something  great  and  admirable,  a  work  in  which  His 
power.  His  wisdom.  His  love  shines  forth  strikingly. 

That  is  true  indeed,  and  we  ought  to  be  deeply  grateful 
for  it.  Inasmuch  as  we  are  the  work  of  God,  His  posses- 
sion and  property.  His  creation  that  He  can  dispose  of  at 
His  will;  we  have  a  real  and  true  existence,  we  are  even 
great,  since  we  have  a  grand  destiny,  for  our  existence  is 
not  for  this  world  alone,  it  is  to  endure  to  all  eternity. 

Yet  of  ourselves,  in  ourselves,  we  are  still  mere  nothing; 
we  remain  what  we  were.  It  is  most  true  that  if  God 
did  not  continually  preserve  us  in  the  being  He  has  given 
to  us,  we  should  incontinently  relapse  into  nothingness; 
we  should,  left  to  ourselves,  return  to  the  state  whence 
we  were  taken,  and  which  is  essentially  our  own :  nothing- 
ness, non-existence.  Let  us  take  an  illustration.  Suppos- 
ing I  hold  a  stone  in  my  hand,  hold  it  over  a  bottomless 
abyss.  While  I  hold  this  stone  it  is  surrounded  by  light 
and  by  air,  but  the  moment  I  let  it  go,  without  any  effort 
to  cast  it  down,  the  stone  through  its  own  weight,  by  a 


ON  HUMILITY.  129 

law  of  nature,  drops  into  the  abyss.  Here  we  see  what 
the  creature  is,  what  I  am  myself,  with  all  my  faculties, 
my  powers,  my  health,  my  whole  being;  such  is  my  con- 
dition of  absolute  dependence  upon  God.  Should  He 
withdraw  that  all-powerful  hand  which  upholds  me  con- 
stantly over  the  abyss  of  my  own  nothingness,  without 
any  conmiand  on  His  part,  merely  by  the  withdrawal  of  His 
sustaining,  preserving  power,  I  should  fall  into  nothingness, 
I  should  revert  to  my  true  condition,  my  proper  place. 

God  grant  that  we  may  be  profoundly  impressed  with 
this  truth,  which,  if  we  understand  and  realize  it  aright, 
can  not  fail  to  exercise  no  slight  influence  upon  our  spiritual 
life.  Unless  we  entertain  a  deep,  clear,  intelligent  con- 
viction of  it,  our  supernatural  life  will  possess  no  solidity. 
Let  us  see  the  obvious  conclusion  to  be  drawn  from  this. 

The  place  therefore  which  appertains  to  us  rightly  and 
justly  is  oblivion,  obliteration  before  God  and  man.  It 
follows  that  when  God,  whose  designs  in  regard  to  us  are 
always  true,  wise,  and  merciful,  consigns  us  to  a  kind  of 
oblivion  and  reminds  us  of  our  own  nothingness,  we  ought 
to  adore  His  holy  will,  loving  it  as  we  love  truth  and  jus- 
tice; again,  if  our  fellow-creatures  neglect  us,  forsake 
us,  and  act  as  if  they  considered  us  to  be  useless,  good-for- 
nothing,  mere  ciphers,  we  ought  to  say  to  ourselves  with 
all  sincerity  that  they  are  right,  and  are  treating  us  as  we 
deserve. 

These  are  sound,  practical  truths.  The  pious  novice 
will  do  well  to  feed  on  them  spiritually.  The  fact  that 
he  is  a  creature  is  in  itself  enough  to  make  him  love  efface- 
ment,  and  his  character  of  a  holocaust  offered  to  God, 
bound  upon  the  sacrificial  altar,  in  His  adorable  presence, 
before  His  sovereign  Majesty  and  glory,  is  a  further  con- 
firmation of  the  justice  of  his  state  of  obscurity  and  com- 


130  ON  HUMILITY, 

pkte  surrender  of  self.  God  is  all  and  he  is  nothing;  and 
when  Providence,  by  some  special  dispensation,  casts  him 
into  oblivion,  he  only  receives  what  is  his  due,  and  ought 
to  acknowledge  the  justice  and  rectitude  of  the  Most  High, 
both  because  he  is  a  creature  and  because  he  is  a  victim. 


CHAPTER  V. 

CONTINUATION  OF  THE   SAME  SUBJECT.      ON  THE  LOVE  OP 
HUMILIATION. 

1.  We  will  now  see  by  what  ways  divine  Providence 
sometimes  causes  us  to  be  forgotten,  and  consigns  us  to 
a  sort  of  oblivion. 

This  He  does  in  various  ways.  Sometimes  by  interior 
darkness  and  aridity,  by  a  mental  impotency  which  no 
efforts  on  our  part  avail  to  shake  off;  or  by  exterior  visita- 
tions, infirmities,  sickness,  and  other  humiliating  condi- 
tions of  physical  weakness  which  incapacitate  us  for  any 
kind  of  exertion,  or  even  participating  in  the  occupations 
of  others. 

Although  we  ought  not  to  desire  and  seek  for  these 
states  of  impotency,  at  least  in  the  normal  course  of  our 
life,  yet  they  are  good  for  us,  since  they  make  us  feel  our 
nothingness  before  God,  and  we  ought  to  submit  to  them 
gladly,  as  coming  from  His  hand,  fraught  with  love  and 
justice. 

But  when  it  is  the  doing  of  our  fellow-creatures  that 
we  are  cast  into  obscurity  and  oblivion,  are  we  bound  to 
welcome  this  result  of  their  action,  if  it  is  caused  by  in- 
difference or  heedlessness,  or  by  deliberate  intention, 
voluntarily  with  full  purpose,  in  good  faith,  or  with  a 
spice  of  malice? 

Certainly  we  should  do  so,  and  for  the  same  reasons; 
our  natural  and  legitimate  place  is  nothingness,  obscurity. 

131 


132  ON   THE  LOVE  OF  HUMILIATION. 

And  if  our  fellow-creatures  help  to  keep  us  in  our  right 
place,  so  much  the  better;  we  ought  to  be  grateful  to  them 
for  it. 

It  happens  very  simply.  No  one  thinks  of  us,  no  one 
takes  any  notice  of  us,  we  never  hear  a  word  of  approval 
or  receive  a  sign  of  esteem  or  regard.  We  are  set  aside 
like  a  worthless  tool  that  is  no  longer  wanted,  or  that  is 
good-for-nothing;  it  does  not  seem  to  occur  to  any  one 
to  give  us  so  much  as  the  most  insignificant  office  in  the 
Community.  Under  such  circumstances  let  us  be  fully 
and  sincerely  convinced  that  all  is  for  the  best,  and  let 
us  rejoice  in  this  treatment  as  in  the  due  order  of  things. 

Meditate  on  these  fundamental  truths,  study  them 
deeply,  both  you  who  are  young  novices  and  you  who 
are  professed.  They  will  reveal  to  you  the  true  basis 
of  the  spiritual  life,  and  will  cast  a  vivid  light  upon  the 
humility  of  the  saints,  above  all  on  the  humility  of  the 
Saint  of  saints,  Jesus,  our  adorable  Victim.  Why  does 
Our  Lord  always  manifest  Himself  in  such  abasement 
and  self-effacement  from  the  mystery  of  His  Incarnation 
until  that  of  the  institution  of  the  Eucharist?  Why 
does  He  always  endeavor  to  be  out  of  sight,  to  be  as 
nothing?  Now  you  understand  why  this  is:  because  He 
took  a  human  body  and  a  human  soul,  consequently  He 
ranked  as  a  creature  in  the  sight  of  His  Father  and  of 
man.  In  a  certain  sense  therefore  He  shared  our  nothing- 
ness. He  knows,  and  none  has  ever  or  will  ever  be  able 
to  comprehend  as  He  does  the  force  of  this  truth:  God 
is  everything  and  man  is  nothing;  this  is  why  He  seems 
to  seek  a  lower  and  ever  lower  depth  of  effacement;  He 
is,  in  fact,  more  completely  hidden  in  the  Holy  Eucharist 
than  in  the  crib  or  on  the  cross.  O  divine  truth!  True 
God  of  true  God,  and  yet  a  sharer  in  our  nothingness, 
show  Thyself  to  us  whose  eyes  are  blinded  by  pride ! 

This  same  truth  explains  the  humility  of  the  Blessed 


ON  THE  LOVE  OF  HUMILIATION.  133 

Virgin,  our  dear  Mother,  and  of  the  saints.  The  more 
enhghtened  a  soul  is,  the  greater  her  humility. 

But  that  soul  does  not  wait  for  God  or  man  to  consign 
her  to  the  obscurity  she  merits;  she  herself  seeks  nothing 
else,  and  adopts  every  means  of  remaining  in  the  back- 
ground, welcoming  everything  calculated  to  hide  her 
from  sight,  and  prevent  her  from  gaining  the  esteem  of 
others.  She  loves  best  what  is  simple  and  ordinary. 
Her  language,  her  demeanor,  her  dress,  all  that  she  makes 
use  of;  the  friendships  she  forms,  her  social  relations,  all 
testify  to  her  love  of  obscurity  and  self-effacement. 

We  would  willingly  conclude  this  first  point  by  citing 
the  examples  and  maxims  of  the  saints;  but  space  forbids. 
If  the  novice  can  procure  a  work  by  St.  John  Climacus  en- 
titled "The  Spiritual  Ladder,"  we  would  advise  him  to 
read  the  twenty-fifth  round,  which  contains  most  valuable 
instruction  on  the  subject  now  under  consideration.  Let 
us  proceed  to  the  second  point  in  the  perfect  practise 
of  humility. 

2.  We  are  miserable  sinners,  hence  it  is  only  just  that 
we  should  meet  with  contempt  from  God  and  man. 

Merely  as  creatures  we  are  nothing,  and  deserve  nothing 
but  oblivion,  but  we  are  sinners  besides,  and  in  the  charac- 
ter of  sinners  we  can  in  all  truth  and  justice  look  for  nothing 
but  contempt. 

Alas!  what  indeed  is  the  unhappy  sinner?  A  soul  who 
has  fallen  to  the  depths  of  ignominy.  Separating  herself 
by  mortal  sin  from  the  sovereign  Good,  from  Him  who  is 
order,  truth,  and  purity  itself,  she  has  fallen  into  an  abyss 
of  error,  confusion,  defilement.  Never  while  on  this 
earth  can  we  form  a  true  idea  of  the  abject  state  into 
which  she  has  fallen. 

Consider  that  she  has  lost  the  glorious,  sanctifying 
grace  given  her  at  her  baptism,  that  she  has  lost  the  friend- 
ship of  God,  the  indwelUng  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  title 


134  ON   THE  LOVE  OF  HUMILIATION, 

to  heaven.  What  extreme  poverty,  what  excessive  in- 
digence, what  frightful  destitution  is  hers!  The  poorest 
beggar  on  the  face  of  the  earth  is  a  thousand  times  better 
off  than  she  is.  He  has  none  of  the  perishable,  transitory- 
goods  of  this  valley  of  tears,  whereas  she  has  voluntarily 
cast  away  the  beauteous,  the  eternal  riches  of  the  heavenly 
country;  she  has  lost  Grod  Himself.  And  at  the  same 
time  she  has  incurred  the  penalty  of  eternal  reprobation, 
of  hell,  with  all  its  horrors,  its  shame,  its  degradation, 
its  unutterable  ignominy.  She  has  deserved  to  be  trodden 
under  foot  forever  by  Satan. 

Then  consider  her  base  ingratitude;  by  her  own  act 
she  has  rendered  void  for  her  all  the  toil,  the  sufferings, 
the  prayers,  the  Passion  and  death  of  Christ,  rendered 
futile  all  His  charity,  all  the  tender  love  of  His  Heart. 

This  soul  represents  each  one  of  us,  if  we  have  the  mis- 
fortune to  commit  mortal  sin.  And  if  hitherto  we  have 
not  been  guilty  of  it,  yet  we  are  liable  at  any  moment 
to  fall  into  it;  and  our  venial  sins,  numerous  as  they  are; 
show  us  only  too  plainly  what  would  be  our  lot,  if  the 
all-merciful  hand  of  God  did  not  uphold  us,  and  preserve 
us  from  sinking  into  the  frightful  abyss  that  yawns  be- 
neath us,  the  abyss  of  oiu*  inherent  corruption  and  pre- 
varication. 

Assuredly  our  fellow-creatures  could  not  be  blamed 
were  they  utterly  to  neglect  us;  but  if  they  go  so  far  as 
to  take  notice  of  us,  what  can  we  expect  from  them  but 
aversion  and  contempt  ? 

Behold  Jesus,  behold  our  meek  and  gentle  Victim,  who 
took  upon  Him  our  sins,  and  by  doing  so  was  reckoned 
among  sinners;  see  what  rebuffs,  what  dereliction  on 
the  part  of  His  Father  He  endured,  whom  as  St.  Paul  says : 
"that  knew  no  sin;  for  us  He  hath  made  sin"  (II.  Cor.  v. 
21).  See  how  He  surrendered  Himself  into  the  hands 
of  His  enemies.  His  executioners,  and  endured  at  their 


ON   THE  LOVE  OF  HUMILIATION.  135 

hands  blows,  outrages,  mockery,  the  most  humiliating 
treatment  possible. 

Look  also  at  the  saints,  look  at  their  love,  one  may 
almost  say  their  impassioned  love  for  humiliations  of 
every  kind.  Were  we  to  enter  upon  the  recital  of  their 
heroic  deeds  we  should  never  have  done.  Some  even 
allowed  themselves  to  be  regarded  as  maniacs;  others, 
being  falsely  accused,  considered  the  charges  brought 
against  them  as  valuable  gifts,  which  they  took  care  not 
to  lose  by  self-justification.  The  saints  in  all  ages  have 
displayed  an  insatiable  craving  for  humiliations  and  con- 
tempt, as  their  biographies  one  and  all  testify. 

Walk  in  their  blessed  footsteps  then,  0  youthful  novice, 
walk  in  them  generously,  cheerfully;  be  assured  that 
great  consolations  await  thee,  consolations  a  thousand 
times  more  grateful  to  the  heart  than  the  gratification 
of  self-love.  Remember  also  that  by  the  love  of  humilia- 
tion and  contempt  he  lays  the  foundations  of  an  indestruc- 
tible edifice.  Listen  to  the  words  of  a  venerable  hermit 
of  Mount  Sinai.  '' Rejoice,''  he  says,  ''when  thou  art 
humiliated;  humility  is  a  grand  virtue  whose  foundations 
are  so  soHd  that  nothing  can  avail  to  shake  them.  When 
the  devil  perceives  that  any  one  is  endeavoring  to  practice 
this  virtue,  he  seeks  to  make  it  appear  mean  and  despicable, 
so  that  we  may  feel  disgust  at  humiliations  and  no  longer 
hold  humility  in  high  esteem.  But  he  who  bears  humilia- 
tion and  scorn  well,  will  by  this  very  abasement  rise  to 
a  lofty  degree  of  wisdom." 

These  grand  and  encouraging  words  will  serve  to  pre- 
pare the  novice  for  the  subject  which  will  form  the  theme 
of  the  next  chapter  and  be  the  complement  of  the  present 
one.  -* 


CHAPTER  \^. 

ON  THE  TRIALS   OF  THE  NOVITIATE. 

The  novitiate  is  a  time  of  trial.  This  it  must  necessarily 
be  for  the  welfare  of  the  yomig  novice  who  could  not 
become  an  edifying  monk,  a  true  victim  of  the  Most  High, 
without  the  aid  of  trials.  He  must  not  forget  that  the 
task  before  him  is  to  compass  the  death  of  the  old  man, 
to  destroy  the  miserable  Ufe  of  nature  with  which  we 
were  fully  impregnated  when  we  left  the  world,  and  to 
succeed  in  living  the  life  of  grace;  now  in  order  to  do 
this  we  must  endure  tribulation.  An  easy,  pleasant 
novitiate  would  be  a  great  misfortune.  "Know,  my  dear 
daughters,"  says  St.  Francis  of  Sales,  "unless  the  grain 
of  wheat  falling  into  the  ground  die,  itself  remaineth  alone. 
But  if  it  die,  it  bringeth  forth  much  fruit.  Our  Lord's 
words  are  clear,  they  come-  from  His  own  sacred  lips. 
Consequently  you  who  aspire  to  receive  the  habit,  and 
you  who  hope  shortly  to  be  professed,  ask  yourselves 
over  and  over  again  if  you  have  sufficient  courage  and 
determination  to  die  to  yourselves  and  only  live  to  God. 
Weigh  it  well;  there  is  plenty  of  time  for  mature  delibera- 
tion before  you  exchange  the  white  veil  for  the  black; 
for  I  assure  you,  my  dear  daughters,  and  I  do  not  wish 
to  flatter  you,  let  those  who  desire  to  live  according  to  the 
dictates  of  nature  remain  in  the  world,  while  those  who 
are  resolved  to  live  the  life  of  grace  will  do  well  to  go  into 
Religion,  which  is  nothing  else  than  a  school  of  renun- 

136 


ON   THE   TRIALS  OF  THE  NOVITIATE.  137 

elation  and  self-mortification.  This  is  why  you  see  that 
it  provides  you  with  many  means  of  mortification,  interior 
as  well  as  exterior.'' 

Here  we  find  the  mild  and  indulgent  St.  Francis  of  Sales 
speaking  like  one  of  the  ascetics  of  the  desert.  But  we 
can  quote  a  higher  authority;  the  Holy  Spirit  Himself 
seems  to  acquaint  the  young  novice  with  the  necessity 
of  a  time  of  trial  at  the  commencement  of  the  spiritual 
life.     Listen  to  this  divine  exhortation: 

"Son,  when  thou  comest  to  the  service  of  God,  stand 
in  justice  and  in  fear,  and  prepare  thy  soul  for  tempta- 
tion. 

"Humble  thy  heart  and  endure;  incline  thy  ear  and 
receive  the  words  of  imderstanding;  and  make  not  haste 
in  the  time  of  clouds. 

"  Wait  on  God  with  patience:  join  thyself  to  God  and 
endure,  that  thy  life  may  be  increased  in  the  latter  end. 

"  Take  all  that  shall  be  brought  upon  thee;  and  in  thy 
sorrow  endure,  and  in  thy  humiliation  keep  patience. 

"  For  gold  and  silver  are  tried  in  the  fire,  but  acceptable 
men  in  the  furnace  of  humiliation"  (Ecclus.  ii.  1-5). 

These  words  of  Holy  Scripture  do  not  leave  us  in  igno- 
rance of  the  trials  that  await  us,  but  they  also  hold  out  a 
promise  of  divine  consolations  and  benedictions,  and  these 
we  shall  reach  by  the  sure  road  of  mortification.  Such 
is  the  interpretation  given  of  this  passage  by  the  Fathers; 
and  St.  Francis  of  Sales,  whom  we  willingly  quote  as 
frequently  as  possible,  says:  "Those  who  enter  the  cloister 
ought  to  seek  in  the  religious  fife  nothing  but  God  and 
the  mortification  of  their  idiosyncrasies,  their  passions, 
their  inclinations;  for  if  they  seek  anything  else  they  will 
never  meet  with  the  consolations  they  look  for."  After 
quoting  these  authorities,  we  proceed  to  open  our  subject. 

What  is  meant  by  the  trials  of  the  novitiate  are  the 
Interior  and  exterior  sufferings,  of  greater  or  less  number, 


138  ON  THE   TRIALS  OF  THE  NOVITIATE. 

which  try  the  patience  of  the  novice,  but  the  result  oi 
which,  provided  he  bear  them  bravely,  will  be  to  fortify 
him  and  confirm  him  in  his  vocation. 

Whence  do  these  trials  principally  arise?  First  of  all, 
they  come  from  God,  whose  holy  will  ordains  them,  or 
who  sanctions  them  by  His  all-wise  permission.  Secondly, 
they  are  caused  by  the  demons,  whose  wiles  and  whose 
mahce,  whose  power  to  torment  us  are  only  too  well 
known.  Old  writers  dwell  much  on  the  occult  influence 
the  devils  are  permitted  to  exercise  over  us.  Thirdly, 
they  are  caused  by  our  fellow-creatures;  our  Superiors, 
our  brethren  in  religion;  by  externes,  our  relatives,  society. 
Finally,  they  come  from  ourselves,  our  character,  our 
temperament,  our  faults,  etc. 

A  whole  treatise  on  the  trials  that  novices  may  en- 
counter would  be  out  of  place  here;  we  shall  therefore 
confine  ourselves  to  speaking  of  those  which  are  most 
common,  and  which  arise:  1.  From  our  own  corrupt 
nature;  2.  From  the  Rule;  3.  From  the  commands  of 
our  Superiors. 

(1)  The  trials  which  arise  from  our  own  corrupt  nature. 
The  fount  of  evil  within  us  is  our  fallen  nature,  the  ego, 
our  character,  our  temperament,  the  habits  of  our  past 
life,  the  memories  clinging  to  it,  our  imagination  with 
its  phantoms  and  its  dreams. 

This  applies  to  each  and  all  of  us.  Poor  human  nature! 
How  little  it  takes  to  rob  us  of  our  peace  of  mind  and  raise 
a  tempest  within  the  heart.  And  if  the  agitation  gains 
in  violence  and  persistency,  the  temptation  may  have 
fatal  consequences. 

Let  us  now  accompany  the  novice  to  the  monastery. 
On  entering  he  imagined  that  he  would  find  there  peace, 
joy  of  heart,  in  fact  all  the  bliss  of  paradise.  He  does 
in  fact  find  all  that  is  needed  to  afford  him,  sooner  or  later.. 
a  foretaste  of  heaven;   nor  is  it  an  uncommon  thing  .or 


ON  THE   TRIALS  OF  THE  NOVITIATE.  139 

the  God  of  all  mercy  to  encourage  His  favored  child  by 
granting  him  at  the  outset  an  earnest  of  future  happiness. 
But  ere  long  the  period  of  trial  comes.  There  is  another 
novice  with  whom  we  have  to  live  in  closest  proximity; 
he  is  beside  us  in  the  chapel,  in  the  refectory,  at  recreation, 
and  his  idiosyncrasies,  his  character,  his  manners,  are 
thoroughly  antipathetic  to  us.  We  struggle  against  this 
feeling,  we  pray  to  overcome  it,  but  in  vain;  the  secret 
antipathy  remains,  like  a  gnawing  worm,  at  the  bottom 
of  the  heart.  Does  it  arise  from  jealousy,  or  is  our  dislike 
well-founded?  However  this  may  be,  it  makes  us  miser- 
able, and  the  spirit  of  discord  and  malice  whispers  constantly 
in  our  ear  that  our  whole  life  will  have,  perhaps,  to  be 
passed  in  the  company  of  that  obnoxious  person,  and  we 
shall  never  be  freed  from  our  present  trials. 

Or  we  are,  perhaps,  reproved  for  something.  We  fancy 
the  rebuke  was  too  severe,  or  even  unjust.  ''They  would 
not  have  said  that  to  any  one  else. — I  am  always  mis- 
understood.— ^They  are  prejudiced  against  me. — Some 
one  has  been  telling  tales,  false  reports  about  me."  The 
imagination  gets  excited;  the  mind  loses  all  its  tranr- 
quillity,  and  the  vocation,  which  a  short  time  before  seemed 
unquestionable,  now  appears  to  the  distressed,  despairing 
novice  to  be  a  foolish  dream,  an  absurd  delusion. 

Another  time  news  reaches  us  from  the  world  we  have 
left  behind  us;  one  of  our  parents  has  fallen  sick.  "How 
cruel  it  seems  '  to  turn  one's  back  on  them  when  they  are 
in  trouble.'  Perhaps  the  illness  was  brought  on  by  grief 
at  parting  with  me.  Is  it  not  my  first  duty  to  see  what 
I  can  do  to  succor  and  solace  them?  Several  persons 
seriously  warned  me  when,  in  my  thoughtless  ardor,  I 
contemplated  imposing  this  sacrifice  on  my  family." 

A  visit  to  the  parlor,  especially  at  a  time  when  the 
mind  is  enervated  by  sadness  or  want  of  recollection, 
may  occasion  similar  mental  suffering  and  temptations 


140  ON  THE  TRIALS  OF  THE  NOVITIATE. 

of  a  still  more  dangerous  nature,  on  account  of  the  memo- 
ries that  may  be  awakened  or  the  ideas  that  are  suggested. 

Another  day  physical  discomforts  assail  us,  sickness, 
infirmities.  These  indispositions  are  caused  by  the  change 
of  food,  by  the  more  sedentary  or  more  laborious  life  of 
the  monastery.  The  indisposition  increases;  the  novice 
feels  good  for  nothing,  and  says  to  himself:  ''When  my 
Superiors  perceive  that  I  have  not  the  health  for  manual 
labor  or  to  bear  the  austerities  of  the  Rule,  they  will  send 
me  away." 

Thus  fancy  magnifies  trifles,  and  the  novice  no  longer 
feels  the  sweet  serenity  he  experienced  at  the  outset.  His 
religious  exercises  seem  intolerable,  reading  becomes  a 
weariness,  prayer  a  torture.  The  walls  of  the  monastery, 
the  atmosphere  that  pervades  it,  the  very  countenances 
of  the  Religious,  everything  seems  a  hindrance  to  his 
happiness,  and  the  days  drag  by  in  a  melancholy,  miserable 
fashion,  which  may  have  fatal  results  if  some  drastic 
cure  is  not  appHed  to  the  evil. 

We  have  not  enumerated  a  tenth  part  of  the  interior 
trials  which  may  afflict  the  novice.  Some  souls,  on  the 
other  hand,  will  not  be  called  upon  to  experience  a  third 
part  of  those  which  we  have  already  mentioned.  One 
must  compassionate  those  who  suffer,  and  remind  them 
of  the  words  of  Holy  Scripture:  ''Because  thou  wast 
acceptable  to  God  (as  the  grace  of  your  vocation  proves), 
it  was  necessary  that  temptation  should  prove  thee" 
(Tobias  xii.  13). 

Trials,  in  fact,  such  as  we  have  depicted  are  not  a  mis- 
fortune; on  the  contrary  they  are  a  boon  and  a  great 
privilege.  They  make  us  feel  very  forcibly  what  we  are 
in  ourselves,  what  is  the  fount  of  misery  within  us,  what 
would  become  of  us  were  we  left  to  ourselves,  the  terrible 
abyss  into  which  we  should  plunge  headlong.  Accord- 
ingly trials  serve  to  confirm  us  in  the  sentiment  of  our 


ON  THE  TRIALS  OF  THE  NOVITIATE  141 

vileness,  and  thus  they  become  a  powerful  factor  in  acquir- 
ing humility.  They  lead  us  to  pray,  to  pray  with  great 
fervor  and  insistency,  because  they  make  us  sensible  of 
our  impotence  for  what  is  good,  and  what  is  worse,  our 
fatal  tendency  toward  evil.  At  the  same  time  they  in- 
crease the  gratitude  we  feel  toward  God,  for  in  the  time 
of  trial  one  sees  more  clearly  that  the  grace  of  our  vocation 
and  of  perseverance  in  our  vocation  are  His  free  gift. 

How  beneficial  for  us,  then,  is  the  season  of  trial!  But 
in  order  that  the  designs  of  God,  who  permits  us  to  be 
afflicted,  should  be  accomplished,  it  behooves  us  to  bear  our- 
selves bravely  in  the  midst  of  temptation.  We  must  have 
recourse  to  God  in  prayer,  and  not  seek  for  human  con- 
solations, which  only  enervate  us.  We  must  rise  superior 
to  ourselves,  to  our  melancholy  broodings,  our  useless 
dejection,  because  in  ourselves  we  are  but  darkness,  and 
the  sufferings  we  complain  of  have  their  source  in  oui 
selves;  we  must  rise  up  and  lift  up  our  hearts  to  God. 

First  of  all  we  must  make  use  of  prayer;  this  is  the 
most  efficacious  means.  *'Is  any  of  you  sad?  Let  him 
pray,"  says  St.  James  (v.  13).  But  we  must  also  go  to 
God  by  faith.  What  is  meant  by  this?  That  we  must 
seek  enlightenment  and  strength  from  those  who  stand 
in  the  place  of  God  toward  us;  our  Superior,  our  spiritual 
Father,  our  Master  of  novices;  from  these  we  must  ask 
help  as  we  would  ask  it  from  God  Himself. 

We  are  inclined  to  think  that  this  second  means  (the 
manifestation  of  one's  heart  in  the  spirit  of  faith)  is,  in 
the  order  of  Providence,  more  effectual  than  the  first, 
because  it  requires  a  greater  exercise  of  virtue. 

AU  the  saints  have  attached  the  highest  importance  to 
this  admirable  practice.  The  lives  of  the  Fathers  of  the 
desert  are  full  of  excellent  maxims  and  instructive  ex- 
amples on  this  point.  We  will  not  enlarge  upon  it,  because 
it  is  ably  handled  by  Rodriguez,  whose  treatise  on  Christian 


142         ON   THE  TRIALS  OF  THE  NOVITIATE. 

perfection  is  in  every  religious  House.  We  would  only 
remind  the  novice  that  fidelity  in  opening  his  conscience 
to  the  spiritual  Father,  especially  in  seasons  of  temptation 
and  trial,  is  a  reassuring  mark  of  predestination. 

Let  him  remember  this,  especially  should  he  encounter 
the  trials  of  which  we  are  now  about  to  speak,  as  he  may 
feel  more  repugnance  and  difficulty  in  doing  so. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

ON  THE   TRIALS   WHICH    COME    DIRECTLY  PROM    OUR 
SUPERIORS. 

In  the  Book  of  Ecclesiasticus  we  read  these  beautiful 
words:  "Wisdom  .  .  .  walketh  with  him  in  temptation, 
and  at  the  first  she  chooseth  him.  She  will  bring  upon 
him  fear  and  dread  and  trial,  and  she  will  scourge  him 
with  the  affliction  of  her  discipline,  till  she  try  him  by 
her  laws,  and  trust  his  soul. 

"Then  she  will  strengthen  him,  and  make  a  straight 
way  to  him,  and  give  him  joy"  (Ecclus.  iv.  18-20). 

These  words  apparently  served  to  inspire  the  founders 
of  Orders  in  drawing  up  their  Rule,  and  in  their  treatment 
of  those  who  applied  to  them  for  admission  into  their 
Community.  In  fact,  Cornelius  a  Lapide,  when  com- 
mentating on  the  first  of  the  above  verses,  mentions  what 
was  customary  in  the  monasteries  of  the  East  to  test 
the  vocation  of  the  novices  and  confirm  them  in  the  pur- 
suit of  virtue. 

What  we  are  about  to  relate  may  seem  somewhat  strange 
to  those  who  are  not  acquainted  with  the  traditions  of 
the  religious  life  from  its  first  institution.  Judging  of 
the  life  of  perfection  only  as  they  see  it  now,  with  the 
relaxations  and  mitigations  which  have  crept  in  in  these 
degenerate  days,  they  are  apt  to  imagine  that  it  would 
be  an  exaggeration  to  recur  to  primitive  observances  and 
revive  usages  which  would  be  impracticable  at  the  present 
time.     Nevertheless  the  ancient  monks  were  not  without 

143 


144     TRIALS  DIRECTLY  FROM  OUR  SUPERIORS. 

wisdom.  St.  Pachomius,  in  particular,  received  his  Rule, 
of  which  we  are  about  to  speak,  from  the  hand  of  an  angel. 
The  Gospels,  the  evangelical  counsels  are  imchanged; 
our  tendency  to  pride  and  sensuality  are  the  same  as 
ever.  In  order  to  justify  the  manner  in  which  the  austeri- 
ties of  the  ancient  monks,  the  energetic  measures  they  took 
to  destroy  nature  in  the  youthful  novice,  are  now  some- 
times forgotten,  it  would  be  necessary  to  prove  that, 
thanks  to  the  progress  of  civilization  and  culture,  our 
nature  is  not  what  it  was;  it  is  cast  in  a  better  mould, 
more  obedient  to  the  voice  of  God;  that  the  practice  of 
virtue  presents  less  difficulty  to  us;  that  we  are  able  to 
climb  the  heights  of  perfection  with  greater  speed  and 
facility. 

Those  Communities  are  to  be  congratulated  which,  on 
the  contrary,  have  been  so  well  advised  as  to  go  back  to 
antiquity,  and  draw  from  the  fountain-head  of  the  maxims 
and  examples  of  the  ancient  Fathers,  the  spirit  of  force, 
of  prudence,  of  truth,  wherewith  those  holy  and  heroic 
men  were  animated,  and  which  alone  give  true  soHdity 
to  an  institution.  Happy  the  novice  also  who  delights 
in  reading  of  what  his  predecessors  achieved,  whose  one 
desire  is  to  possess  their  spirit  of  renunciation  and  to 
follow  in  their  steps. 

We  have  already  mentioned  St.  Pachomius.  This  great 
saint,  who  was  born  toward  the  close  of  the  third  century, 
has  always  been  regarded  as  the  Founder  of  the  Orders 
of  coenobites,*  and  his  Rule  was  considered  so  admirable 
that  it  may  safely  be  said  to  have  served  as  the  pattern 
and  basis  of  all  subsequent  ones,  both  in  the  East  and  in 
the  West.  This  is  what  we  learn  of  the  conduct  pursued 
in  regard  to  the  novices,  either  from  the  text  of  his  own 

^  Ccenobites  are  Religious  who  lived  in  Communities,  in  contra- 
distinction to  the  anchorites,  who  lived  alone  in  the  desert,  like 
St.  Paul,  the  first  hermit. 


TRIALS  DIRECTLY  FROM  OUR  SUPERIORS.     145 

Rule,  or  from  the  writings  of  Cassian,  who  visited  the 
monasteries  Pachomius  founded,  in  order  to  acquaint  him- 
self with  the  observances  in  force  amongst  them. 

Although  the  monks  of  the  Order  of  Tabenna  (which 
Pachomius  founded)  were  very  nimierous,  it  must  not 
be  supposed  that  they  were  admitted  indiscriminately. 
When  any  one  presented  himself  at  the  gate  of  the  monas- 
tery, soliciting  the  favor  of  being  received  as  a  monk, 
he  was  not  let  in  at  once,  but  (as  was  said  on  a  previous 
page)  he  was  left  outside  for  about  ten  days,  to  make 
sure  that  he  was  in  earnest.  During  this  period  he  was 
obliged  to  prostrate  himself  at  the  feet  of  the  Brothers 
as  they  went  to  and  fro;  and  they  were  instructed  to 
repulse  him  with  contempt  and  harsh  words,  to  ascertain 
whether  his  desire  was  sincere,  and  whether  he  would  be 
humble,  and  patient,  and  steadfast  in  the  time  of  trial. 

In  early  times  the  motive  that  induced  the  postulant 
to  go  into  religion  was  carefully  examined  into.  He  was 
asked,  conformably  to  a  clause  in  the  Rule,  if  he  was 
thoroughly  resolved  to  leave  his  family,  his  property, 
and  everything  appertaining  to  the  world.  He  was  next 
instructed  in  the  different  obligations  of  the  religious  life; 
and  it  was  the  office  of  the  porters  to  give  him  these  pre- 
liminary instructions.  Finally  he  was  given  the  habit 
and  became  a  novice.  But  Cassian  says  that  did  not 
mean  that  he  was  inamediately  admitted  to  the  society 
of  the  Brethren;  for  a  whole  year  he  was  subject  to  the 
authority  of  one  of  the  porters  in  order  that  he  might 
practise  humility  and  patience  in  serving  guests  and 
strangers  under  his  direction. 

It  is  to  be  observed,  besides,  in  the  life  of  St.  Pachomius, 
that  what  he  enjoined  most  emphatically  on  the  novices 
was  the  renunciation  of  their  own  will,  their  own  ideas, 
their  own  judgment;  and  that,  in  order  to  school  them 
in  the  practice  of  blind  obedience,  he  wished  their  Superiors 


146     TRIALS  DIRECTLY  FROM  OUR  SUPERIORS, 

to  thwart  their  desires  and  inclinations  in  every  possible 
way,  and  sometimes  to  command  them  to  do  what  was 
apparently  quite  imreasonable,  but  which  would  be  useful 
to  them  as  a  means  of  acquiring  evangelical  wisdom. 

One  might  say  that  the  principal  anxiety  of  these  ser- 
vants of  God  was  to  destroy  the  life  of  nature  in  their 
youthful  subjects.  It  was  also  the  great  object  of  the 
fervent  novices  imder  their  direction,  as  may  be  gathered 
from  what  the  most  ancient  historians  record.  St.  Atha- 
nasius,  who  was  a  contemporary  of  St.  Pachomius,  says 
that  the  hermits  set  their  wits  to  work  to  find  a  Superior 
of  a  rugged,  cross-grained  disposition,  who  would  deal 
harshly  with  them,  and  the  more  severe  those  Superiors 
were,  the  more  prompt  was  the  obedience  shown  to  them. 

What  occurred  when  St.  Arsenius  went  into  the  desert 
affords  an  admirable  insight  into  the  spirit  of  the  ancient 
monks  in  regard  to  the  formation  of  novices.  It  is  well 
known  that  Arsenius  occupied  a  high  position  in  the 
world,  the  Emperor  Theodosius  the  Great  having  en- 
trusted him  with  the  education  of  the  two  princes,  Arcadius 
and  Honorius,  the  future  emperors  of  Constantinople 
and  of  Rome.  The  distinction  and  authority  Arsenius 
enjoyed  at  the  imperial  court  led  to  his  being  called  the 
father  of  emperors.  At  length,  touched  by  grace,  he 
resolved  to  quit  the  court  with  all  its  splendor,  and  with- 
draw to  the  desert  to  adopt  the  austere  Hfe  of  an  anchorite. 
When  he  appeared  amongst  them  the  monks  were  sorely 
embarrassed  as  to  the  choice  of  a  hermit  on  whom  to  lay 
the  task  of  forming  him  to  the  practice  of  monastic  virtues. 
It  was,  in  fact,  by  no  means  easy  to  find  a  master  for  him 
who  had  stood  in  that  relation  to  the  sons  of  the  masters 
of  the  world.  They  consulted  together,  and  their  choice 
fell  on  the  venerable  John  the  Dwarf. 

John  was  highly  esteemed  amongst  the  hermits  on  ac- 
count of  the  sanctity  of  his  life.     He  had  been  trained  in 


TRIALS  DIRECTLY  FROM  OUR  SUPERIORS.     147 

the  virtues  proper  to  the  Religious  by  an  old  man  who 
had  spared  no  pains  to  eradicate  within  him  every  fiber 
of  self-love;  and  the  saint,  whilst  still  young,  had  to  ex- 
perience severe  trials  in  the  novitiate.  In  a  future  chapter 
we  shall  relate  some  of  the  expedients  devised  by  the 
austere  but  holy  old  man  to  break  the  will  of  his  dis- 
ciple and  destroy  all  human  judgment.  Since  that  time 
John  the  Dwarf^s  reputation  for  sanctity  had  been  con- 
tinually on  the  increase. 

The  elder  hermits,  therefore,  taking  Arsenius  with  them, 
repaired  to  the  cell  of  the  illustrious  hermit,  and  pre- 
sented the  new  arrival  to  him.  They  then  told  him  pri- 
vately what  Arsenius  had  been  in  the  world,  the  position 
he  held  at  the  emperor's  court,  his  talents,  the  fervor 
with  which  he  begged  to  be  admitted  amongst  the  Brethren, 
and  the  hopes  they  all  had  formed  of  him.  John  the 
Dwarf  did  not  seem  to  attach  much  importance  either 
to  the  coming  of  Arsenius,  or  to  the  eulogistic  account 
given  of  him.  The  time  came  for  the  midday  meal ;  the 
table  was  laid  as  usual,  he  asked  the  hermits  to  take  their 
places  at  it,  but  said  nothing  to  Arsenius,  whom  he  left 
standing.  The  repast  began;  John  offered  nothing  to 
his  new  guest  until  nearly  the  end,  when,  taking  a  piece 
of  bread  from  the  table,  with  a  gesture  as  if  he  were  calling 
to  a  dog,  he  threw  it  onto  the  floor  of  the  cell,  coldly 
telling  Arsenius  that  he  could  eat  it  if  he  were  hungry. 
Humility  triumphed;  Arsenius  crawled  on  all  fours,  as^ 
if  he  were  one  of  the  lower  animals,  to  the  place  where 
the  bread  lay,  and,  taking  it  up,  ate  it. 

At  the  sight  of  such  heroic  virtue  John  the  Dwarf  was 
truly  rejoiced:  ''Go,"  he  said  to  the  hermits,  ''go,  my 
Brothers,  in  all  confidence,  and  the  blessing  of  God  be 
with  you.  Pray  for  us.  I  can  assure  you  that  this  man 
will  make  an  excellent  Religious." 

Those  were   men   of   no   ordinary   stamp.     We   freely 


148     TRIALS  DIRECTLY  FROM  OUR  SUPERIORS. 

acknowledge  that  it  would  not  be  prudent  now  to  treat 
novices  in  that  fashion.  No;  here  we  must  recall  what 
St.  Francis  of  Sales  said:  "  Such  conduct  is  to  be  admired, 
not  imitated."  Yet  if  the  mode  of  action  is  extraordinary, 
the  spirit  whence  it  proceeded  is  holy;  and  we  must  not 
imagine  that  it  is  out  of  date,  unsuited  for  the  present 
time.  It  made  the  great  men  of  the  early  centuries,  and 
it  will  make  great  men  in  all  ages. 

Moreover,  these  traditions  of  ancient  discipline  have 
been  preserved  and  handed  down  to  us  by  the  monastic 
institutions  of  subsequent  times,  and  in  fervent  Com- 
munities they  exist  and  energize  now  as  they  did  then. 
One  may  catch  the  echo  of  these  primitive  traditions  in 
the  words  of  St.  Jane  Frances  Chantal,  addressed  to  her 
Daughters  of  the  Visitation,  though  one  would  not 
imagine  the  spirit  of  that  Order  to  be  the  same  in  regard 
to  the  formation  of  novices.  Speaking  of  the  Mistress 
of  Novices,  she  says:  ''The  novitiate  is  the  right  time  to 
train  the  novices  in  religious  perfection.  The  Mistress 
ought  to  put  them  to  trial  before  all  the  Community;  to 
ground  them  well  in  solid  virtue,  to  render  them  supple 
as  a  glove,  to  strip  them  of  everything  and  detach  them 
from  everything,  omitting  no  opportunity  of  thwarting 
their  inclinations,  their  will,  their  judgment.  These  and 
other  excellent  mortifications  she  should  make  them  prac- 
tise for  two  years,  and  all  in  the  spirit  of  charity." 

Here  is  a  point  which  must  by  no  means  be  overlooked : 
"All  in  the  spirit  of  charity!"  The  Master  or  Mistress 
of  Novices  must  bear  this  in  mind,  so  as  never  to  humiliate, 
to  correct,  to  try  his  or  her  subjects  except  in  a  spirit  of 
charity;  out  of  love  for  God,  for  whom  his  object  is  to 
train  children  who  will  resemble  their  heavenly  Father; 
out  of  love  for  Our  Lord,  whose  future  spouses  these  souls 
are,  and  whom  he  must  render  worthy  of  the  divine  alliance; 
out  of  love  for  the  souls  themselves,  for  the  Holy  Spirit 


TRIALS  DIRECTLY  FROM  OUR  SUPERIORS.     149 

teaches  us  that  charity  ought  to  be  the  motive  of  all 
reproofs,  of  all  chastisements  inflicted  on  a  son.  ^'He 
that  loveth  his  son,  frequently  chastiseth  him"  (Ecclus. 
XXX.  1).  Yes,  let  us  repeat  the  holy  foundress'  words: 
"All  in  the  spirit  of  charity;"  rebukes,  the  most  severe 
trials,  orders  and  counter-orders,  the  continual  exercising 
of  the  young  soul,  in  whom  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to 
destroy  the  life  of  nature,  the  miserable  ego,  to  give  place 
to  the  reign  of  grace,  which  must  hold  sway  therein.  The 
training  of  Religious  ought  to  have  no  other  aim;  and 
when  our  perverse  and  corrupt  nature  is  thoroughly 
known,  it  is  impossible  to  adopt  any  other  means  than 
that  of  humiliation  in  season  and  out  of  season,  trials  at 
every  turn,  and  above  all  that  which  directly  conduces 
to  this  end:  the  death  of  the  old  man  and  the  life  of  the 
new  man  within  us.     "All  in  the  spirit  of  charity." 

Not  only  the  Superior,  but  the  novice  also  must  bear  in 
mind  this  excellent  maxim.  *'A  great  thing  is  love," 
says  the  author  of  the  Imitation,  "a  great  good  every 
way,  which  alone  lighteneth  all  that  is  burdensome, 
and  beareth  equally  all  that  is  unequal.  For  it  carrieth 
a  burden  without  being  burdened,  and  maketh  all  else  that 
is  bitter  sweet  and  savory"  (Im.,  B.  iii,  Ch.  5).  Charity 
is  the  universal  benediction  which  God  has  given  us  to 
render  all  things  subservient  to  His  good  pleasure  and 
to  our  greater  good. 

This  love  is  the  love  of  Christ  crucified,  the  Victim  of 
charity,  for  whose  sake  the  generous  soul  is  ready  to  bear 
everything.  And  nothing  is  more  acceptable  to  Him  than 
the  oblation  of  our  humiliations,  and  of  all  that  relegates  us 
to  that  state  of  annihilation  before  Him  which  is  our  true 
place  and  rightful  condition,  since  we  are  victims  together 
with  Him.  Thus  the  young  novice,  in  this  spirit  of  charity, 
will  delight  in  all  that  is  of  a  nature  to  annihilate  him  in 
his  own  eyes  and  in  the  sight  of  his  Superiors. 


150      TRIALS  DIRECTLY  FROM  OUR  SUPERIORS. 

One  day  he  will  be  received  coldly;  his  Superior  seems 
to  be  pressed  for  time  just  when  he  has  most  to  say,  and 
would  fain  unburden  his  heart;  it  appears  as  if  his  con- 
fidences were  received  with  indifference  and  Hstened  to 
in  a  perfunctory  manner. 

Another  time  an  order  will  be  given  him  which  is  ap- 
parently diametrically  opposed  to  the  one  given  him  the 
day  before.  Without  the  slightest  regard  to  his  inclina- 
tions, his  tastes,  his  aptitudes,  his  qualifications,  a  task 
is  assigned  him  which  is  opposed  to  each  and  all  of  these, 
while  a  thoroughly  congenial  employment  is  taken  from 
him. 

He  was  associated  in  his  work,  his  occupations,  with  a 
fellow-novice  whose  good  breeding,  education,  and  piety 
rendered  him  the  most  delightful  companion;  he  is  set 
to  work  with  another  who  is  in  every  respect  as  antipathetic 
to  him  as  any  one  could  be.  No  more  peace  for  him,  no 
more  spiritual  sweetness,  no  more  rivalry  in  the  observance 
of  the  Rule  and  the  practice  of  the  virtues  of  the  religious 
life. 

Or  perhaps  he  is  not  well;  nobody  seems  to  take  the 
least  notice  of  his  indisposition.  The  ordinary  rules  of 
courtesy  are  not  even  observed  in  his  regard. 

One  of  his  relatives  has  been  to  see  him.  No  attention 
was  shown  to  the  visitor;  in  fact  one  of  the  lay-brothers 
was  very  rude  to  him.  Now  the  poor  novice,  already 
sorely  tried,  saw  or  was  told  of  this,  and  was  much  hurt 
by  it.  While  the  wound  was  still  smarting,  he  went  in 
all  simplicity  to  tell  the  Master  of  Novices  what  had 
occurred,  and  was  coldly  told  to  remember  the  passage 
in  the  book  of  Deuteronomy  which  runs  thus:  "Who 
hath  said  to  his  father  and  to  his  mother:  I  do  not  know 
you;  and  to  his  brethren,  I  know  you  not;  and  their 
own  children  they  have  not  known;  these  have  kept  Thy 
word  and  observed  Thy  covenant"  (Deut.  xxxiii.  9). 


TRIALS  DIRECTLY  FROM  OUR  SUPERIORS.     151 

Unfortunate  novice!  This  is  what  awaited  you  in  the 
cloister!  Perhaps  you  said  to  yourself,  like  the  Religious 
whom  St.  Francis  of  Sales  depicts  in  one  of  his  Con- 
ferences: ''I  thought  that  it  was  enough,  in  order  to  be 
a  good  Religious,  to  work,  to  make  meditations,  to  have 
visions  and  revelations,  to  delight  in  reading  good  books. 
Just  fancy,  I  was  so  virtuous,  at  least  so  I  thought,  so 
humble  and  so  mortified,  every  one  admired  me.  Was 
it  not  being  very  humble  to  talk  sweetly  to  my  com- 
panions about  holy  things,  to  repeat  at  home  the  sermons 
I  had  heard,  to  be  very  gentle  in  my  behavior  to  all  the 
members  of  the  household,  especially  when  I  met  with 
no  contradiction  from  them?" 

To  this  the  good  saint  answers:  "No  doubt,  my  dear 
daughters,  that  was  very  edifying  when  you  were  in  the 
world,  but  the  religious  state  demands  of  you  works 
worthy  of  your  vocation,  that  is  to  say,  to  die  to  self  in 
everything,  both  in  what  is  commendable  and  to  your 
liking,  as  well  as  in  what  is  reprehensible  and  useless." 

Courage,  then,  and  patience,  O  novice,  that  is  what 
you  need.  At  any  cost  you  must  die,  die  to  the  life  of 
nature,  die  to  your  miserable  self.  The  bad  blood  must 
be  got  rid  of;  the  abscess  must  be  lanced  in  order  that 
the  matter  it  contains  may  be  expelled;  the  poison  of 
self-love  must  be  ejected.  All  this  is  indispensable.  You 
did  not  think  about  it  while  you  were  in  the  world.  In 
the  novitiate  your  eyes  were  opened  to  the  disease  which 
was  sapping  your  strength,  paralyzing  the  operation  of 
grace  in  your  soul.  Thankfully  accept  the  beneficial 
influence  which  will  be  exercised  on  you.  Do  not  dread 
the  point  of  the  lancet  which  will  open  the  abscess;  do 
not  shrink  from  swallowing  the  drastic  potion  which 
purifies  the  blood.  Under  the  appearance  of  death  you 
will  receive  the  life  of  Christ,  and  ere  long,  O  favored 
child  of  God,  you  who  sow  in  tears  will  reap  in  joy. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

ON  THE  RULING   PASSION. 

The  ruling  passion  is  an  interior  disposition  which  in- 
clines the  soul  to  what  is  wrong,  and  influences  it  in  that 
direction  more  frequently  and  more  forcibly  than  all  the 
other  passions. 

In  it  the  chief  strength  of  the  hfe  of  self  is,  so  to  speak, 
concentrated.  That  Hfe  manifests  itself  and  acts  by  all 
the  passions  of  the  soul,  but  it  seems  to  exert  its  greatest 
vigor,  its  most  potent  energy  in  the  ruling  passion.  If 
this  life  be  compared  to  a  tree,  the  dominant  passion  may 
be  said  to  be  its  thickest  branch,  the  one  in  which  the  sap 
circulates  most  freely,  which  bears  the  greatest  number 
of  fruits — ^fruits  of  a  deadly  nature. 

We  must  therefore  direct  our  attention  to  this  subject, 
which  follows  quite  naturally  on  what  has  been  said 
before.  No  progress  is  possible  in  the  spiritual  life  .with- 
out a  resolute  and  unremitting  struggle  against  this  mortal 
enemy.  Such  is  the  unanimous  opinion  of  all  the  masters 
of  the  Christian  life,  from  the  hermits  of  the  desert  down 
to  the  ascetical  writers  of  modern  times.  What  we  now 
have  to  do  is  to  expose  the  wiles  and  the  maUce  of  the 
dominant  passion — to  show  how  each  one  can  discover 
what  is  his  ruling  passion — ^and  how  it  is  to  be  combated 
and  overcome. 

1.  Consider  the  maUce  of  the  ruling  passion. 

What  we  have  just  said  will  have  given  some  idea  of  this. 

152 


ON  THE  RULING  PASSION.  153 

The  ruling  passion  being  the  center,  so  to  speak,  of  the 
human  self,  the  ego,  the  seat  of  its  greatest  power,  it  is 
evident  that,  together  with  the  world  and  the  devil,  it 
is  a  formidable  opponent  to  the  life  of  Christ  within  the 
soul.     Let  us  look  into  this  more  closely. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  our  dominant  passion  is  the 
source  of  the  greater  number  of  the  sins  we  commit,  espe- 
cially of  our  venial  sins.  It  principally  conduces  to  bring 
the  soul  into  a  state  of  tepidity  and  to  keep  it  captive  in 
that  state.  This  done,  the  havoc  it  is  capable  of  working 
is  incalculable,  if  we  remember  that  the  essential  charac- 
teristic of  the  dominant  passion  is  to  keep  itself  concealed. 
And  as  it  is  identical  with  our  own  self,  and  the  greatest 
difficulty  is  to  know  one's  self,  nothing  is  more  obvious 
and  natural  than  that  we  should  be  deceived  in  regard 
to  it;  we  know  the  countenances  of  others  better  than 
our  own.  Nay,  more,  not  only  does  the  ruling  passion 
conceal  itself,  and  refuse  to  be  known  as  a  vice,  but  it 
aspires  to  pass  under  the  disguise  of  a  virtue,  and  even 
goes  so  far  as  to  lend  our  other  vices  the  semblance  of 
virtues.  One  individual  thinks  a  great  deal  of  himself; 
that  shows  greatness  of  soul.  He  readily  takes  scandal 
at  the  faults,  real  or  imaginary,  of  his  neighbor;  that 
arises  from  zeal  for  God  and  for  justice.  Another  is  weak 
and  a  lover  of  ease;  he  is  guided  by  a  spirit  of  leniency 
and  mildness;  and  so  on.  Father  Faber  speaks  forcibly 
on  this  point:  *'Thus  the  dominant  passion  leads  directly 
to  final  impenitence;  this  is  what  gives  it  its  terrible 
character." 

*'This  being  so,"  he  adds  with  much  justice,  "there  are 
few  subjects  of  greater  moment  to  the  man  who  is  in 
earnest  than  that  of  the  ruling  passion;  for  of  all  the 
obstacles  to  the  progress  of  the  soul  in  the  spiritual  life, 
it  is  the  most  common,  the  most  secret,  and  consequently 
the  most  dangerous.  .  .  .  We  here  find  ourselves  face  to 


154  ON  THE  RULING  PASSION. 

face  with  one  of  the  most  important  matters  of  our  life; 
how  ar6  we  to  discover  what  is  our  ruHng  passion?  " 

This  is  an  affair  that  concerns  every  Christian  at  every 
period  of  his  Hfe,  but  it  can  not  be  gainsaid  that  it  is  a 
yet  more  imperious  duty  for  the  young  novice,  since  the 
object  of  the  novitiate  is  to  compass  the  death  of  the  old 
man,  and  foster  the  Ufe  of  the  new  man  in  those  whom 
God  has  called  to  the  religious  state.  Let  us  proceed 
to  consider  the  second  point. 

2.  How  can  one  ascertain  what  is  his  ruling  passion? 

There  are  three  means  afforded  us  of  acquiring  this 
humiliating  but  most  necessary  knowledge.  (1)  Prayer; 
(2)  Examination  of  conscience;  (3)  Direction.  The  con- 
stant and  humble  use  of  these  means  will  infallibly  enable 
us  to  distinguish  amongst  our  other  passions  the  principal 
enemy  which  we  have  to  combat  and  to  conquer. 

(1)  Prayer. — This  is  the  general  means  of  obtaining 
graces  of  every  kind.  We  must  not  fail  to  make  use  of 
it  in  order  to  acquire  the  knowledge  of  ourselves,  which 
is  a  very  great  grace.  St.  Augustine  had  recourse  to  it, 
and  he  frequently  uttered  this  short  prayer:  '^Domine, 
noverim  te,  noverim  me;  noverim  te  ut  amem  te;  noverim 
me  ut  oderim  me.  Make  me  to  know  Thee,  O  Lord,  make 
me  to  know  myself.  Make  me  to  know  Thee  that  I  may 
love  Thee;  make  me  to  know  myself  that  I  may  hate 
myself."  Let  us  beseech  the  God  of  mercy  to  dispel  the 
dense  cloud  of  illusions  which  obscure  our  unhappy  soul; 
let  us  entreat  Him  to  tear  from  our  eyes  the  bandage  which 
prevents  us  from  seeing  the  true  light.  This  prayer  is 
all  the  more  necessary  because  it  is  a  peculiar  mark  of 
the  ruling  passion  to  blind  us,  as  we  have  said,  to  our 
spiritual  state,  even  making  us  regard  this  detestable  fault 
in  the  light  of  a  virtue. 

Alas!  how  easily  men  are  blinded.  The  world  is  fuU  of 
those  who  are  thus  deceived  in  regard  to  themselves.     In 


ON  THE  RULING  PASSION.  155 

their  souls  more  especially  the  dominant  passion  holds 
sovereign  sway  and  works  frightful  havoc.  These  un- 
happy worldlings  deserve  our  compassion  and  need  our 
prayers.  But  the  Religious  must  not  be  oblivious  of  the 
fact  that  the  same  evil  root  which  causes  the  loss,  the 
damnation  of  his  fellow-men  exists  in  himself,  and  that  it 
is  absolutely  necessary  for  him,  by  means  of  fervent,  con- 
stant, humble,  heartfelt  prayer,  to  obtain  from  the  God 
of  mercy  the  light  which  is  needful  certainly  to  discover 
and  surely  to  dislodge  the  fatal  foe. 

(2)  Examination  of  Conscience. — ^It  would  be  difficult 
to  exaggerate  the  benefits  the  soul  derives  from  this  salu- 
tary exercise.  St.  Gregory  (Pope)  declares  that  the  habit 
of  making  this  examination  is  a  mark  of  predestination, 
just  as  neglecting  to  take  account  of  the  faults  one  commits 
is  a  mark  of  reprobation.  Our  Lord  frequently  urges  upon 
His  disciples  the  necessity  of  watching;  and  St.  Paul 
enjoins  on  Timothy  to  "take  heed  to  himself"  (I.  Tim. 
iv.  16).  Finally  all  the  masters  of  the  spiritual  life  extol 
the  examination  of  conscience  so  highly  and  recommend 
it  so  strongly,  that  too  great  importance  can  not  be  at- 
tached to  it  as  a  factor  in  the  work  of  our  salvation.  But 
of  all  the  beneficial  results  to  be  derived  from  it,  the 
knowledge  of  our  dominant  passion  is  surely  not  the  least. 

To  obtain  this  end  it  is  requisite  to  examine  one's  conn 
science  every  day,  and  thus  ascertain  what  are  the  faults 
into  which  one  falls  most  frequently.  If  our  ruling  pas- 
sion is  the  source  of  the  greater  number  of  our  faults, 
there  is  no  doubt  this  is  the  way  to  discover  it. 

But  it  is  not  enough  for  the  examination  to  be  regular; 
it  must  be  made  with  serious  and  careful  attention,  that 
we  may  not  only  discern  the  true  nature  of  our  faults,  but 
also — and  this  is  still  more  important — the  source  whence 
they  come.  One  must  ascertain  under  what  circum- 
stances those  faults  were  committed,  on  what  unforeseen 


156  ON  THE  RULING  PASSION. 

occasions,  amid  what  social  relations,  and  whether  we 
experienced  pain  or  pleasure  at  the  time. 

This  is  tantamount  to  saying  that  the  examen  ought  to 
be  not  only  daily  and  thorough,  but  patient  and  perse- 
vering, on  one  particular  point.  The  monthly  retreat 
will  be  a  help  to  the  daily  examination;  it  is  to  a  certain 
extent  a  general  examination  of  conscience,  a  recapitula- 
tion of  the  daily  ones. 

It  is  evidently  no  difficult  matter,  with  so  excellent  a 
means  at  hand,  to  ascertain  with  tolerable  certitude  what 
is  our  ruling  passion.  Then  direction  comes  in  to  unmask 
it  finally  and  fully. 

(3)  Direction. — ^This  may  be  regarded  as  a  divine 
oracle.  The  simple  and  upright  soul  will  find  in  it  the 
light  she  is  seeking.  Let  her  but  open  her  heart  to  her 
Superior  in  a  spirit  of  faith;  let  her  tell  humbly  and  frankly 
the  result  of  her  examens;  let  her  answer  as  becomes  a 
child  the  questions  addressed  to  her,  and  await,  with  com- 
plete abnegation  of  her  own  judgment,  the  decision  of  her 
Superior;  let  her  do  this,  and  if  by  this  means  she  does 
not  arrive  at  knowledge  of  the  truth,  how  will  she  ever 
find  it?  Our  director  stands  to  us  in  the  place  of  God; 
he  it  is  whose  duty  it  is  to  make  known  to  us  what  we 
should  do  and  what  we  should  avoid.  Consequently,  if 
we  place  no  hindrance  in  the  way  of  the  merciful  designs 
of  our  good  God,  either  through  negligence  or  (which  God 
forbid)  through  wilful  misrepresentation,  we  may  rest 
assured  that  we  shall  attain  the  desired  end. 

Let  us  then  suppose  that  the  young  novice  is  now  fortu- 
nate enough  to  know  what  is  his  ruling  passion.  Perhaps 
it  is  one  of  the  seven  deadly  sins  in  its  undisguised  ugli- 
ness: pride,  avarice,  luxury,  envy,  gluttony,  anger,  sloth. 
And  although  infected  by  this  hideous  vice,  yet  he  is  in 
the  land  of  saints;  he  is  surrounded  by  pure,  simple,  gen- 
erous souls,  who  seem  ignorant  of  evil.      Or  maybe  his 


ON  THE  RULING  PASSION.  157 

dominant  fault  is  one  of  those  which,  although  in  close 
touch,  as  it  necessarily  must  be,  with  one  of  the  capital 
sins,  are  of  a  less  repulsive  character  than  those;  as,  for 
instance,  one  of  the  following  seven:  vanity,  jealousy, 
susceptibility,  proneness  to  take  scandal,  sensuality,  lev- 
ity, indolence.  These  humiliating  miseries  form  a  dismal 
list,  but  they  are  inherent  in  our  nature;  and  even  if  one 
does  but  enter  into  a  few  details  concerning  them,  more 
often  than  not  one  feels  how  deep  is  the  taint  of  these  dis- 
graceful faults,  and  we  say  within  ourselves:  '*It  is  not 
one  single  passion  that  I  have,  I  have  them  every  one,  and 
they  all  appear  in  turn  to  be  the  dominant  one  at  one  time 
or  another,  as  occasion  calls  them  into  play." 

This  may  be  true  in  a  certain  sense;  however,  the  expe- 
rience of  those  who  have  the  direction  of  souls  leaves  us  in 
no  doubt  that  there  is  one  passion  which  reigns  supreme 
in  the  realm  of  our  rebel  nature.  And  now,  taking  for 
granted  that  we  know  which  is  our  principal  enemy,  we 
will  proceed  to  see  in  what  way  it  is  to  be  combated. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

ON  THE  MANNER  IN   WHICH  TO   CJOMBAT  AND  TO   CONQUER 
OUR  RULING   PASSION. 

This  is  the  most  important  point  and  also  the  most  dif- 
ficult task.  But  if  we  are  so  happy  as  to  succeed  in  it, 
how  glorious  will  be  the  results  of  our  victory!  In  order 
successfully  to  combat  our  dominant  passion  the  work 
must  be  carried  on:  1.  Supernaturally;  2.  Resolutely; 
3.  Unremittingly. 

1.  Supernaturally.  That  is  to  say,  we  must  employ 
spiritual  weapons  in  attacking  oiu*  dominant  passion,  not 
those  with  which  nature  and  self-love  would  provide  us. 
For  were  we  to  employ  the  latter,  we  should  unconsciously 
be  fighting,  not  against  our  adversary,  but  for  him.  As 
our  rrding  passion  is  a  fault,  it  follows  that  it  mars  our 
intercourse  with  the  people  with  whom  we  live;  and  even 
if  they  are  so  charitable  as  to  overlook  our  vices,  our  bad 
habits,  yet  it  must  needs  cost  them  an  effort  to  do  so. 
Now  when  once,  with  the  help  of  our  spiritual  Father,  we 
have  arrived  at  the  knowledge  of  this  vice,  this  defect, 
this  bad  habit,  we  naturally  conclude  that  we  must  oft«n 
be  displeasing  to  the  other  members  of  the  Community, 
especially  if  our  ruling  passion  is  one  which  manifests 
itself  externally,  as  susceptibility  does,  or  indolence. 

But  if  we  are  not  on  our  guard,  self-will  comes  into  play; 
it  is  always  ready  to  offer  its  services  in  the  struggle  on 
which  we  are  entering  with  our  ruling  passion,  and  thus 
act  the  part  of  a  traitor,  instead  of  an  ally,  by  tm-ning  all 

158 


HOW   TO  COMBAT  OUR  RULING  PASSION,       159 

the  efforts  we  make  to  its  own  advantage,  instead  of  fur- 
thering the  glory  of  God  and  the  triumph  of  grace.  This 
is  how  it  acts. 

Our  ruling  passion  is  hateful  to  others,  therefore  it  is  a 
humiliation  for  ourselves.  While  we  lived  in  the  world  it 
was  scarcely  noticeable ;  here,  however,  it  is  plain  to  every 
one.  It  must  be  got  rid  of  as  soon  as  possible.  But  if 
you  set  to  work  because  this  sense  of  humiliation  is  irk- 
some to  you;  if  you  are  anxious  to  appear  less  imperfect 
for  the  sake  of  the  good  opinion  of  your  Superiors  and  your 
fellow-novices;  or  again,  if  your  principal  motive  is  to 
spare  yourself  the  shame  you  feel  at  the  consciousness  of 
your  own  misery  and  imperfection;  if  you  seek  after  per- 
fection for  its  own  sake,  that  is  to  say,  for  the  sake  of  the 
serenity  it  gives  the  soul,  the  human  satisfaction  that  you 
experience  at  having  made  so  much  progress — then  be  sure 
that  you  have  lost  a  great  deal  of  time,  wasted  all  your 
time,  perhaps,  in  vain  efforts  and  anxieties. 

Let  us  always  mistrust  the  view  we  take  of  ourselves; 
unless  our  first  and  foremost  thought  is  of  God.  It  is  quite 
possible  that  our  desire  for  perfection  may  be  prompted 
by  human  motives,  and  may  be  the  wretched  offspring  of 
self-love.  In  fact,  self-love  has  all  its  own  way  if,  in  the 
good  we  do  and  the  victory  we  gain  over  ourselves,  we  are 
so  foolish  as  to  take  account  of  creatures,  and  the  esteem 
in  which  they  hold  us. 

Cassian  relates  that  the  Abbe  Macarius  once  made  a 
very  good  answer  to  a  hermit  who  complained  that,  now 
that  he  was  in  the  desert,  he  could  not  wait  until  nine 
o'clock  without  taking  food;  whereas,  when  he  lived  in 
the  monastery,  he  could  fast  with  ease  for  a  whole  week. 
"  The  thing  is  this,"  he  replied:  "  in  the  desert  no  one  sees 
that  you  fast  and  feeds  you  with  praise;  while  in  the  mon- 
astery the  notice  taken  of  you  by  the  others  kept  you  up, 
and  gratified  vainglory  was  as  good  as  a  meal  to  you." 


160      HOW  TO  COMBAT  OUR  RULING  PASSION. 

Alas !  this  remark  sounds  strange,  but  it  is  only  too  just, 
and  affords  an  instance  of  the  pitiable  vagaries  of  self- 
love. 

The  Conference  whence  the  above  quotation  is  taken, 
treats  of  the  principal  vices  in  general,  and  of  the  domi- 
nant passion  in  particular.  It  contains  excellent  advice, 
which  coincides  with  what  we  have  just  been  saying  as  to 
the  supernatural  means  of  combating  our  enemy: 

"  In  the  war  which  we  have  to  wage  with  our  vices,  we 
must  single  out  the  one  which  is  most  to  be  dreaded,  and 
turn  our  attention,  our  efforts  to  that  one.  AU  our  daily 
mortifications,  our  sighs,  our  groans,  our  good  works,  our 
meditations  must,  like  so  many  darts,  be  directed  against 
that  one  foe;  we  must  call  continually  upon  God  with 
tears  and  supplications  in  order  to  obtain  victory  and 
peace,  for  it  is  impossible  to  conquer  a  passion  unless  from 
the  outset  we  are  firmly  persuaded  that  we  can  not  gain 
the  victory  by  our  own  strength  but  with  the  help  of  God." 

Somewhat  further  on  he  adds  that  we  must  not  take 
credit  to  ourselves  on  account  of  this  victory,  but  refer  all 
the  glory  of  it  to  God  alone.  He  specially  emphasizes  this 
counsel,  thus  teaching  us  that  the  most  essential  senti- 
ments for  success  in  conquering  our  mahgnant  enemy  are 
faith,  the  spirit  of  prayer,  and  unfeigned  zeal  for  and  love 
of  the  glory  of  God. 

2.  Our  ruling  passion  must  be  combated  resolutely. 
This  means  that:  (1)  We  must  attack  it  in  front  and  go 
straight  to  the  point  by  acts  of  a  contrary  nature  to  those 
which  it  inspires;  and  (2)  We  must  endeavor  as  far  as  pos- 
sible to  foresee  the  occasions  when  it  preeminently  makes  its 
power  felt,  in  order  to  provide  against  surprise  and  nullify 
its  influence. 

(1)  We  must  attack  it  openly  and  directly.  Take  an 
example:  Suppose  it  is  jealousy  with  which  we  have  to 
deal.     Jealousy  is  a  ;rross  fault,  and  a  very  hiuniliating 


HOW  TO  COMBAT  OUR  RULING  PASSION.       161 

one.  How  reluctant  people  are  to  own  to  it!  They  do 
not  mind  being  thought  irascible,  or  sensual,  or  changeable, 
but  jealousy  is  different.  There  is  something  mean  in 
this  passion  which  makes  our  pride  revolt.  Yet  it  is  no 
chimera;  on  the  contrary,  it  is  the  scourge  of  many  a 
novitiate  where  no  great  fervor  prevails.  The  way  in 
which  this  or  that  Sister  is  treated  by  the  Reverend  Mother, 
by  the  Mistress  of  Novices,  by  the  spiritual  Father,  the 
little  attentions  of  which  one  sees  or  fancies  her  to  be  the 
object,  her  spiritual  advancement,  the  superior  modesty 
of  her  demeanor,  the  veriest  trifle,  in  fact,  which  one  would 
imagine  least  likely  to  excite  this  odious  feeling,  all,  in  short, 
serve  to  agitate,  irritate,  and  annoy  the  mind  that  is 
given  to  jealousy.  The  other  Sisters  notice  nothing  par- 
ticular, but  the  jealous  eye  sees  everything,  and  the  un- 
happy soill  is  rendered  melancholy,  and  carries  about 
with  her  the  envenomed  arrow  which  continually  inflicts 
fresh  wounds  on  her.  This  unfortunate  individual  is  cer- 
tainly much  to  be  pitied;  one  can  not  help  feeling  sorry 
for  her,  and  wishing  to  aid  her  with  a  few  words  of  good 
advice. 

This  is  how  she  must  set  about  vanquishing  her  domi- 
nant fault.  Let  her  often  pray  for  the  person  who  dis- 
turbs her  peace  of  mind,  pray  for  her  tranquilly,  sim- 
ply, calmly;  let  her  go  to  communion  for  her,  beseeching 
Our  Lord  to  make  her  grow  in  holiness  and  increase  in  the 
graces  she  has  received,  and  thanking  the  divine  Master 
for  having  made  choice  of  so  good  a  servant.  This  she 
must  do  above  all  if  the  virtues  and  fervor  of  the  indi- 
vidual in  question  have  provoked  her  jealousy. 

If  it  is  her  superior  talents,  her  better  education,  etc., 
then  whenever  the  thought  of  her  recurs  to  the  mind,  it 
will  be  well  to  place  one's  self  in  spirit  at  her  feet,  saying: 
*' Grant  me  grace,  O  Lord,  to  understand  how  great  an 
honor  it  is  for  me  to  be  at  the  feet  of  this  pious  person. 


162       HOW  TO  COMBAT  OUR  RULING  PASSION, 

when  I  have  deserved  to  be  trampled  under  foot  by  the 
devil."  And  this  one  must  do  at  recreation,  when  one 
finds  one^s  self  in  her  presence,  or  joins  in  conversation  with 
her.  But  it  must  be  done  with  simpUcity  and  serenity  of 
heart,  and  one  must  be  very  careful  not  to  let  one's  inward 
feelings  appear  outwardly. 

If  it  is  the  notice  her  Superiors  take  of  this  person  which 
awakens  your  jealousy,  look  up  lovingly  to  Our  Lord,  and 
say  to  Him:  ''Let  the  work  of  sanctification,  O  Lord,  be 
accomplished  in  that  soul  by  whatever  means  Thou  hast 
ordained;  let  all  within  and  around  her  be  holy.  As  for 
me,  I  would  fain  learn  more  and  more  that  Thou  art  all  in 
all,  and  that  if  Thy  gifts  are  admirable.  Thou,  O  my  Jesus, 
art  admirable  above  all,  the  supreme  Good,  the  one  only 
joy  of  my  heart." 

If  these  supernatural  means  are  employed,  it  can  not 
be  long  before  victory  crowns  our  efforts.  One  may  be 
certain  that  grace  will  reign  where  natm-e  has  been  de- 
throned and  destroyed. 

These  particular  counsels  would  be  different  were  it 
a  question  of  the  subjugation  of  some  other  ruling  passion; 
but  we  have  indicated  enough  to  the  fervent  soul:  Let 
her  attack  her  dominant  passion  openly  and  directly.* 

*  There  is  one  exception  to  this  rule,  as  every  one  knows,  and  that 
is  when  the  passion  which  is  contrary  to  angelic  purity  is  in  ques- 
tion. Then  victory  consists  in  flight,  the  avoidance  of  all  occasions 
whatsoever,  humble,  tranquil  vigilance  in  banishing  every  imag- 
ination, every  recollection  suggestive  of  evil;  creating  a  diversion 
when  temptation  makes  its  approach  felt  by  the  uneasiness  which 
invariably  accompanies  it;  mortification  of  the  senses,  custody  of 
the  eyes,  humble,  persevering  prayer;  frequent  recourse  to  the 
Heart  of  Our  Lord,  to  His  holy  and  blessed  Mother,  to  St.  Joseph, 
to  our  guardian  angel.  Armed  with  these  spiritual  weapons  one 
may  indeed  be  subjected  to  the  distressing  humiliation  of  what  St. 
Paul  designates  as  the  buffets  of  Satan,  but  one  is  never  overcome 
by  them, 


HOW   TO  COMBAT  OUR  RULING  PASSION.       163 

(2)  We  must  foresee  as  much  as  possible  and  carefully 
provide  against  the  occasions  when  its  power  is  felt  most 
strongly.  These  circumstances  vary  very  much,  and  ac- 
cording to  the  nature  of  the  passion  itself  it  makes  its 
malign  influence  felt  now  here,  now  there,  now  in  the 
company  of  others,  now  in  the  solitude  of  the  cell,  in 
the  parlor,  at  recreation,  in  the  refectory,  in  bed;  we 
are  never  secure  against  it;  our  relations  toward  our 
Superiors,  with  externes,  the  letters  we  write,  the  matters 
of  business  discussed,  the  office  entrusted  to  us,  each  and 
all  of  these  afford  occasions  which,  according  to  the  nature 
of  our  ruling  passion,  may  prove  fatal  to  us.  But  we  shall 
learn  by  experience;  and  when  we  find  that  this  or  that 
place,  our  intercourse  with  this  or  that  person,  even  the 
emplojonent  which  duty  prescribes,  furnishes  the  enemy 
with  an  occasion  to  lay  snares  for  us  and  entangle  us  in 
his  net,  we  shall  be  heedful  and  circumspect.  Thus, 
supposing  that  the  behavior,  the  language,  the  gestures 
of  some  one  with  whom  I  am  brought  into  contact  in 
the  course  of  my  daily  avocations,  irritate  and  annoy  me 
and  get  on  my  nerves,  let  me  say  to  myself:  I  will  never 
address  that  person  without  invoking  the  gentleness  of 
the  Heart  of  Our  Lord,  the  meekness  of  the  heart  of  His 
blessed  Mother;  if  necessary,  I  will  fancy,  all  the  time 
that  I  am  in  that  person's  company,  that  I  kneel  before 
him,  to  honor  in  him  the  great  dignity  conferred  upon 
him  as  a  mystic  member  of  Jesus  Christ  and  His  chosen 
Spouse.  And  this  I  will  do  in  spirit  with  such  simplicity 
that  my  exterior  conduct  may  appear  quite  natural,  and 
no  one  shall  suspect  the  force  I  put  upon  myself. 

The  Christian  who  is  thus  careful  to  anticipate  the 
occasions  when  his  dominant  passion  may  cause  him  to 
fall,  and  who,  in  combating  self,  does  not  allow  himself 
to  be  discouraged  despite  the  assaults  of  his  enemy,  will 
soon  gain  the  victory.     Such  is  the  counsel  given  and  the 


164       HOW.  TO  COMBAT  OUR  RULING  PASSION, 

hope  held  out  to  the  generous  soul  by  P.  Guillos^,  an 
eminent  master  of  the  spiritual  life.  "Bear  in  mind," 
he  says,  "that  although  you  form  the  most  generous 
resolutions  to  overcome  your  dominant  passion,  it  is 
morally  impossible  that  you  should  not  occasionally 
succumb  to  it;  consequently  determine  never  to  lose  heart, 
however  numerous  your  relapses.  Say  to  yourself:  I 
am  but  human ;  however,  I  have  a  good  will  and  abundant 
graces;  as  to  the  former,  that  depends  upon  myself,  and 
the  latter  will  not  be  withdrawn,  so  I  venture  to  hope 
that  in  the  course  of  time  I  may  be  triumphant;  yet 
even  if  this  passion  were  to  make  me  faU  several  times  a 
day,  I  will  not  be  disheartened." 

But  if  it  be  true  that  we  ought  never  to  allow  ourselves 
to  be  discouraged,  it  is  equally  true  that  we  ought  to  per- 
severe and  struggle  continually  and  energetically.  This 
will  be  our  third  point. 

(3)  We  must  combat  our  ruling  passion  unremittingly. 
Man^s  life  on  earth  is  a  warfare.  We  shall  never  acquire 
any  sohd  virtue  if  we  lose  sight  of  this  fundamental  truth. 
"The  kingdom  of  heaven  suffereth  violence,"  our  divine 
Master  says,  "and  the  violent  bear  it  away."  We  must 
never  cease  to  struggle,  always  and  everywhere;  to  go 
on  fighting  if  we  have  won  a  victory,  more  than  one  victory, 
as  well  as  if  we  had  sustained  defeat  once,  twice,  ten 
times  over. 

As  a  general  maxim  it  may  be  laid  down  that  very 
rarely  is  the  dominant  passion  entirely  subjugated,  crushed 
out  once  and  forever.  In  speaking  of  self-love,  which 
manifests  most  strongly  in  the  ruling  passion,  we  quoted 
the  saying  of  St.  Francis  of  Sales:  "We  may  consider 
ourselves  fortunate  if  it  dies  a  quarter  of  an  hour  before 
we  do."  But  if,  even  in  spite  of  constant  exertions,  it 
is  seldom  that  a  complete  victory  is  achieved,  what  would 
it  be  if  we  voluntarily  allowed  ourselves  to  be  vanquished, 


HOW  TO  COMBAT  OUR  RULING  PASSION.       165 

and  never  sought  to  repair  our  defeat?  We  may  repair 
it,  and  to  some  extent  transform  it  into  a  victory,  if  we 
have  the  courage  to  chastise  ourselves,  and  that  severely. 

The  penance  to  be  imposed  must  vary  according  to 
the  gravity  of  the  fault  committed  and  the  essential 
character  of  the  ruling  passion.  In  every  case  direction 
on  this  point  is  necessary,  otherwise  nature,  and  perhaps 
the  very  passion  we  are  seeking  to  overcome,  might  turn 
the  occasion  to  their  own  advantage  and  gain  a  fresh  and 
sure  victory  in  the  penance  which  we  have  chosen  our- 
selves, and  not  always  discreetly.  Thus  if  a  hot-tempered 
person,  after  some  act  of  impatience,  should  take  a  dis- 
cipline and  chastise  herself  almost  angrily,  without  the 
spirit  of  confidence  in  God  which  ought  to  inspire  all  our 
self-imposed  penances,  that  individual  would  fall  a  second 
time  into  the  fault  she  thought  to  correct,  and  what  is 
most  to  be  deplored,  her  malady  would  be  aggravated  by 
the  remedy  adopted  to  remoA^e  it.  The  same  might  be 
said  of  one  who,  being  given  to  vanity,  should  impose 
some  public  humiliation  on  herself.  Since  her  penance 
would  be  self-chosen,  it  is  greatly  to  be  feared  lest  her 
vanity  should  find  something  whereon  to  feed  in  what 
was  meant  as  a  punishment.  It  appertains,  I  repeat, 
chiefly  to  the  director  to  prescribe  the  remedy  for  the 
disease.  Humility,  submission,  the  spirit  of  faith  where- 
with we  make  our  faults  known  and  accept  the  punish- 
ment they  deserve,  all  these  are  in  themselves  an  act  of 
reparation  and  a  step  onward  in  the  work  we  have  under- 
taken. 

We  will  conclude  with  the  wise  advice  Father  Faber 
gives  on  this  subject:  "Be  on  your  guard  against  the 
delusions  into  which  the  devil  will  endeavor  to  make  you 
fall,  by  persuading  you  that  this  unremitting  struggle 
to  subjugate  the  ruling  passion  is  only  suited  for  saints, 
and  belongs  to  the  highest  states  of  the  spiritual  life." 


166      HOW  TO  COMBAT  OUR  RULING  PASSION. 

This  is  one  of  his  favorite  maxims,  of  which  he  makes  use 
on  aknost  every  occasion.  The  wise  man  only  needs  to 
hear  it  to  mistrust  it.  What  is  much  more  true  is  that 
the  soul  can  not  hope  to  attain  any  great  height  of  spirit- 
uality as  long  as  she  has  not  succeeded  in  gaining  an 
almost  total  victory  over  her  dominant  passion.  This 
is  an  indispensable  condition;  we  must  fulfil  that  condi- 
tion and  do  so  without  delay.  No,  indeed,  neither  visions, 
nor  ecstasies,  nor  mortifications,  not  even  miracles  or  the 
most  striking  light  obtained  in  contemplation  will  avail 
to  make  us  advance  a  single  step  in  the  way  which  leads 
to  union  with  God,  if  we  cease  to  wage  war  with  holy 
pertinacity  against  our  ruling  passion. 


CHAPTER  X. 

ON  FAULTS   OF  CHARACTER. 

After  the  ruling  passion,  our  whole  attention  should  be 
directed  to  our  faults  of  character.  We  say  after,  but  we 
do  not  wish  to  infer  that  we  need  not  attempt  to  combat 
them  until  the  dominant  passion  is  thoroughly  subdued, 
but  because  faults  of  character,  regarded  in  general,  are 
less  dangerous  to  the  soul  than  the  enemy  of  which  we 
spoke  in  the  previous  chapter.  There  are  even  some  faults 
of  character  which  are  not  directly  the  source  of  any  sin, 
since  they  are  natural  imperfections,  as,  for  instance,  if  the 
principal  defect  in  a  man's  character  is  want  of  judgment ; 
yet  it  is  a  fact  which  must  not  be  overlooked  that  these 
natural  imperfections  may  be  so  prejudicial  to  Community 
life  that  they  may  be  considered  as  arguing  the  absence  of 
a  vocation  to  the  religious  state.  It  is  very  important  to 
look  at  them  from  this  point  of  view. 

By  a  man's  character  is  meant  the  tastes  and  inclina- 
tions natural  to  him,  taken  as  a  whole,  which  determine 
his  manner  of  thought,  his  desires,  actions,  and  course  of 
conduct  in  the  practical  matters  of  life.  This  general  dis- 
position, or  rather  the  union  of  all  our  natural  tendencies, 
is  not  necessarily  evil.  Some  characters  are  by  nature 
good.  But,  whether  good  or  evil,  we  all  without  excep- 
tion possess  these  dispositions,  tendencies,  habits,  which, 
taken  as  a  whole,  form  our  character.  They  are  deeply 
rooted  in  our  nature  and  depend  as  to  what  they  are  on 

167 


168  ON  FAULTS  OF  CHARACTER. 

our  temperament,  our  early  training,  and  the  care  or  want 
of  care  which  we  have  shown  in  the  practice  of  virtue 
from  our  childhood. 

We  do  not  intend  to  speak  here  of  characters  which  are 
essentially  good.  There  is  only  one  thing  to  be  said  about 
them,  and  that  is,  they  must  be  supernaturalized;  i.e.,  those 
inclinations,  that  frame  of  mind,  which  are  naturally  good, 
must  have  a  spring  of  action  given  them  which  is  not  merely 
the  promptings,  right  and  well  regulated  though  they  may 
be,  of  a  happily-constituted  nature,  but  the  impulse  of 
divine  grace,  with  its  supernatural  motives  and  principles. 
The  Master  or  Mistress  of  Novices  can  easily  explain  this  to 
his  or  her  subjects.  We  will  turn  our  attention  to  faults  of 
character;  this  is  a  more  important  and  practical  subject. 

Faults  of  character  are  the  frame  of  mind,  the  tenden- 
cies, the  habits  which  are  imperfect,  faulty,  and  sometimes 
bad,  by  means  of  which  our  natural  disposition  reveals 
itself,  makes  itself  apparent  to  those  about  us. 

Some  of  these  faults  are  of  lesser  importance  and  do  not 
much  impede  our  sanctification,  nor  are  they  an  obstacle 
to  our  admission  to  Community  life.  Still  they  should  be 
diligently  combated  as  soon  as  they  are  pointed  out  to  us; 
however,  it  may  be  said  as  a  general  rule  it  is  not  essential 
to  a  high  degree  of  perfection  to  have  completely  con- 
quered these  faults. 

Others  there  are  which,  if  not  eradicated  during  the 
period  of  the  novitiate,  are  said  by  the  Masters  of  the 
religious  hfe  to  constitute  a  mark  that  the  novice  has  no 
vocation  and  consequently  must  be  excluded  from  relig- 
ious profession. 

These  faults  are  twelve  in  number.  We  will  describe 
them  briefly,  for  it  would  be  beside  our  purpose  to  enter 
upon  them  in  a  detailed  manner;  but  we  think  it  will  be 
found  that  enough  has  been  said  about  them. 

1.  The  Want  of  Intelligence. — ^The  want  of  common 


ON  FAULTS  OF  CHARACTER,  169 

sense  or  intelligence  incapacitates  a  subject  for  Community 
life.  It  gives  rise  to  an  untold  amount  of  miseries,  espe- 
cially if  the  Religious  is  promoted  to  some  superior  rank. 
It  is  safe  to  say,  as  a  general  rule,  that  it  is  better  to  have 
less  virtue  and  more  judgment,  than  to  be  distinguished 
for  certain  virtues  and  have  very  little  judgment.  With 
time  and  a  good  will  virtue  may  be  acquired;  intelligence 
never  can  be  acquired;  grace  itself  is  impotent  to  remove 
this  defect,  or  almost  entirely  so.  Consequently  the 
founders  of  Orders  and  all  who  speak  of  the  qualities 
requisite  in  the  novice  are  relentless  on  this  point.  St. 
Teresa  says:  "We  must  not  take  postulants  who  are  want- 
ing in  intelligence,  because  they  wiU  not  be  able  to  under- 
stand the  good  advice  given  them.  For  the  most  part 
those  who  are  deficient  in  this  way  think  they  know  better 
what  is  suited  for  them  than  do  the  wisest  amongst  us. 
This  defect  appears  incurable  to  me,  since  it  is  rarely  un- 
accompanied by  a  certain  malignity.  I  can  not  see  what 
good  any  one  who  is  wanting  in  intelligence  can  be  to  the 
Community ;  but  I  can  see  very  plainly  that  she  may  do  a 
great  deal  of  harm  to  it." 

No  one  can  speak  more  decidedly  than  this.  Yet  there 
are  degrees  in  this  unfortunate  defect;  and  one  can  imag- 
ine that  a  lay-brother  or  sister,  though  not  gifted  with 
much  sense,  would  not  exercise  any  detrimental  influence 
on  the  Community.* 

2.  Levity. — ^This  fault  of  character  forms  a  great  ob- 
stacle to  admission,  and  unless  it  be  corrected,  an  insuper- 
able obstacle  to  profession  in  a  Community  which  attaches 
great  importance  to  keeping  up  the  true  spirit  of  religion. 
Levity  of  character  is  inimical  to  reflection,  to  silence,  to 
recollection,  to  perseverance  in  the  practice  of  virtue.     It 


^  Properly  speaking,  the  want  of  intelligence  or  good  sense  is  not 
so  much  a  fault  of  character  as  a  defect  of  the  intellect. 


170  ON  FAULTS  OF  CHARACTER. 

is  constantly  changing.  It  is  impossible  to  rely  upon  any 
resolution  a  person  of  this  character  may  take,  and  if  per- 
chance this  fault  is  to  a  great  extent  subdued  and  got 
under  during  the  novitiate,  the  chances  are  that  it  will 
start  up  afresh  as  soon  as  the  curb  is  removed  by  the 
apparent  relaxation  of  discipline  after  profession.  This  is 
the  sort  of  character  which  asks  for  endless  dispenses,  and 
wearies  the  Superior  by  a  thousand  vagaries  of  one  kind 
or  another.  At  one  time  their  great  wish  is  to  return  to  a 
secular  life,  at  another  they  dream  of  entering  a  more  aus- 
tere Order.  It  is  impossible  to  overrate  the  importance  of 
watching  the  progress  such  persons  make  during  the  no- 
vitiate in  the  practice  of  solid  virtues.  If  it  can  not  be 
asserted  that  they  have  amended  in  this  respect,  they 
must  be  dismissed  without  mercy.  Wherefore  let  the 
novice  who  is  infected  by  this  malady  set  valiantly  to  work 
to  cure  it. 

3.  Duplicity. — It  is  easy  to  understand  how  utterly 
opposed  this  fault  is  to  Community  life,  which  is  all  open- 
ness, simplicity,  frankness  toward  one's  Superiors,  and 
cordiality,  sincere  charity  and  kindness  toward  one's  fel- 
low-Religious. Mme.  Louise  of  France,  a  nun  in  the  Car- 
melite convent  of  St.  Denis,  who  was  most  clear-sighted 
in  regard  to  the  qualities  necessary  to  make  a  good  Relig- 
ious, was  extremely  severe  on  this  point.  She  considered 
few  faults,  her  biographer  says,  to  be  more  diametrically 
at  variance  with  the  spirit  of  religion  than  proneness  to 
concealment  and  duplicity.  She  regarded  it  as  betoken- 
ing utter  unfitness  for  the  cloister,  because  it  is  inherent  in 
the  character,  and  is  more  rarely  corrected  than  other 
faults,  even  much  grosser  ones. 

4.  Melancholy  and  Gloom. — A  sad  and  melancholy 
disposition  not  only  renders  its  possessor  unhappy,  but 
also  those  who  live  with  him.  A  Community,  several 
of  whose  members  were  afflicted  with  this  malady,  would 


ON  FAULTS  OF  CHARACTER.  171 

find  its  days  were  numbered.  How,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
could  any  one  live  in  the  continual  companionship  of 
persons  who  by  their  demeanor  and  behavior,  by  their 
very  presence,  cast  a  funereal  gloom  around  them?  Yet 
we  must  beware  of  misapprehension  concerning  the  nature 
of  this  evil.  It  may  simply  be  the  effect  of  a  passing 
trial,  and  thus  not  last  any  length  of  time.  If  so,  one 
need  not  be  alarmed;  the  affliction,  the  trial  will  pass 
away  and  the  soul  will  recover  its  serenity.  If  the  melan- 
choly is  not  an  integral  part  of  the  character,  it  will  not 
be  difficult  to  banish  it;  otherwise  there  is  little  to  be 
hoped  for.  Neither  St.  Teresa  nor  St.  Chantal  would  pro- 
fess a  subject  who  was  habitually  the  prey  of  a  sad  and 
gloomy  frame  of  mind. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  novice,  therefore,  to  shake  off  this 
sadness,  and  since  he  gives  himself  to  God  in  the  character 
of  a  victim,  let  him  see  that,  in  accordance  with  St.  Paul's 
admonition,  his  gift  is  that  of  a  cheerful  giver. 

5.  Restlessness  and  Disquietude. — The  good  and 
indulgent  St.  Francis  of  Sales  tells  us  his  opinion  con- 
cerning this  kind  of  character.  On  the  nuns  of  the  Visi- 
tation at  Annecy  consulting  him  about  it,  he  answered  thus : 
"You  ask  me,  in  the  first  place,  how  one  ought  to  act 
supposing  there  was  a  novice  who  was  very  apt  to  be  put 
out  about  trifles,  who  often  seemed  to  be  troubled  in 
mind  and  disquieted,  and  who  at  such  times  displayed 
no  love  for  her  vocation,  and  who  yet,  when  this  mood 
had  passed  away,  promised  to  do  wonders.  Unquestion- 
ably one  who  is  so  variable  is  not  fit  for  the  rehgious  state. 
One  does  not  know,  you  may  urge,  whether  this  changeable- 
ness  proceeds  from  want  of  resolution  to  correct  herself,  or 
whether  she  really  does  not  understand  in  what  true  virtue 
consists.  At  any  rate,  if  after  having  made  her  thoroughly 
comprehend  what  she  ought  to  do  she  does  not  do  it,  one 
must  send  her  away.'* 


172  ON  FAULTS  OF  CHARACTER. 

Thus  we  see  that  St.  Francis  of  Sales  would  not  admit 
persons  who  are  unduly  agitated,  whatever  be  the  cause 
of  their  disquietude. 

One  does  indeed  understand  that  a  restless  mind,  always 
more  or  less  agitated  about  something  or  other,  matters 
relating  to  the  world  or  to  himself  (anxieties  suggested 
by  self-love,  exaggerated  concern  for  his  personal  in- 
terests, both  bodily  and  mental,  scruples  natural  and 
voluntary,  the  outcome  of  inflexibihty  of  the  will),  one 
can  understand,  we  say,  that  a  character  of  this  descrip- 
tion is  not  only  a  torment  to  himself,  but  a  torment  to 
his  Superiors  and  to  all  about  him.  Without  radical 
amendment,  he  is  ill-fitted  for  Community  life;  but  one 
must  be  careful  to  observe  whether  this  disquietude  is 
inherent  in  the  nature  of  the  novice  or  the  effect  of  some 
temptation.  If  it  be  the  latter,  there  will  be  more  chance 
of  improvement. 

6.  Vanity  and  Self-sufficiency. — ^Here  we  have  a 
veritable  plague!  We  can  not  think  without  horror  of 
these  persons  who,  as  St.  Francis  of  Sales  expresses  it, 
"while  in  the  world  were  overflowing  with  vanity,  and 
who  go  into  religion,  not  to  humble  themselves,  but  to 
take  the  reins  of  government."  The  saint  adds  that  great 
caution  is  requisite  in  regard  to  such  persons. 

St.  Teresa  was  of  the  same  opinion.  It  is  related  of  her 
that  one  day  one  of  these  ladies  who  think  so  much  of 
themselves  presented  herself  requesting  to  be  admitted 
among  the  saint's  daughters.  The  would-be  postulant, 
however,  must  needs  make  certain  stipulations,  and  first 
of  all  she  stated  that  she  was  in  the  habit  of  constantly 
reading  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  cared  for  no  other  book; 
consequently  she  requested  that  she  might  not  be  required 
to  give  up  her  Bible.  The  keen-sighted  Reformer  of  Carmel 
detected  at  a  glance  the  overweaning  vanity  of  the  new- 
comer,  and   answered   coldly:     "That   is   quite   enough, 


ON  FAULTS  OF  CHARACTER.  173 

Mademoiselle;  you  can  present  yourself  at  some  other 
door;  as  for  us,  we  do  not  want  either  your  Bible  or  your- 
self.'' 

7.  Haughtiness. — ^This  fault  of  character  bears  a  cer- 
tain relation  to  the  preceding  one;  but  it  is  unquestionably 
a  lesser  evil.  Vanity  and  self-sufficiency  are  implanted 
in  the  soul  and  display  themselves  in  speech  and  demeanor. 
Haughtiness,  on  the  contrary,  can  only  manifest  itself 
in  deportment  and  manner;  but  it  is  so  opposed  to  relig- 
ious modesty,  it  contrasts  so  strongly  with  the  habit  itself, 
the  garment  emblematic  of  humility  and  decorum  given 
by  the  Church  to  the  Religious;  there  is  so  much  that  is 
unbecoming  in  the  general  mien,  the  gait,  the  proud 
carriage,  that  it  is  necessary  at  any  cost  to  lower  this 
lofty  bearing  and  apply  a  true  standard  to  these  airs 
of  fictitious  value.  The  generous  soul  who  vigorously 
combats  a  fault  of  this  kind,  and  succeeds  in  conquering 
it,  may  very  probably  attain  a  high  degree  of  hiunility 
and  modesty  after  her  victory,  whereas  if,  unhappily,  no 
pains  were  taken  to  overcome  it,  it  might  be  the  cause 
of  much  harm  to  the  Community.  Besides,  the  Religious 
is  a  victim;  imagine  a  victim  who  is  proud  and  haughty  I 
My  God,  what  a  contradiction  in  terms! 

8.  Irascibility  and  Vindictiveness. — A  character  may 
be  passionate  without  being  vindictive.  We  only  couple 
the  two  words  together  because  of  a  certain  analogy  be- 
tween them.  But  it  will  be  seen  at  once  how  opposed 
both  of  them  are  to  the  true  spirit  of  religion  and  to  Com- 
munity hfe.  The  mutual  amenities  and  concord  of  its 
members  is  what  to  a  considerable  extent  constitutes 
the  happiness  of  a  Community.  Hear  what  the  Holy 
Spirit  says  by  the  mouth  of  David:  "Behold  how  good 
and  how  pleasant  it  is  for  brethren  to  dwell  together  in 
unity:  it  is  like  the  precious  ointment  on  the  head,  that 
ran  down   upon  the  beard,  the  beard  of  Aaron,  which 


174  ON  FAULTS  OF  CHARACTER. 

ran  down  to  the  skirt  of  his  garment:  as  the  dew  of 
Hermon,  or  that  which  descendeth  upon  Mount  Sion^' 
(Ps.  cxxxii.  1-3).  Passion  is  Uke  an  icy  blast  which 
dries  up  that  gentle  dew  and  dissipates  the  fragrant 
perfume.  It  is  an  absolute  necessity  that  the  novice 
should  become  peaceable  and  gentle;  unless  he  gain  this 
conquest  over  self,  life  in  community  is  out  of  the  question 
for  him,  and  nobody  would  vote  for  his  admission.  Was 
not  Jesus,  our  Victim,  pointed  out  to  the  bystanders  by 
St.  John  Baptist  as  the  Lamb  of  God,  the  lamb  being  the 
gentlest  of  animals? 

A  vindictive  character  is  more  to  be  dreaded  than  a 
passionate  one,  and  the  correction  of  this  fault  in  the 
novice  must  be  more  obvious  and  persevering.  An  occa- 
sional display  of  temper  is  not  incompatible  with  real 
kindness  of  heart;  yet  it  so  impairs  that  excellent  quality 
that  this  sad  fault  must  absolutely  be  got  imder.  Now  a 
revengeful  spirit,  on  the  contrary,  argues  the  absence  of 
all  amiability,  and  I  think  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that 
a  subject  who  should  wilfully  commit  one  serious  act  of 
revenge  deserves  to  be  dismissed  without  mercy.  He  would 
not  only  be  a  source  of  trouble  to  a  religious  house,  he 
would  be  an  object  of  fear. 

9.  Singularity. — Singularity  shows  itself  in  the  most 
varied  ways  in  actions,  tendencies,  claims,  in  short  in  its 
whole  behavior.  But  in  every^  case  it  unfits  a  postulant 
for  the  life  of  religion.  St.  Teresa,  addressing  her  spiritual 
daughters,  says  in  general:  '^Always  avoid  singularity  as 
much  as  possible,  since  it  is  a  very  dangerous  fault  for  the 
members  of  a  Community." 

Singularity  in  devotion  must  above  and  before  all  be 
pitilessly  combated.  It  is  truly  an  invention  of  the  spirit 
of  falsehood  and  malice  to  effect  the  ruin  of  souls  and  of 
inonasteries  as  well,  if  the  disease  should  prove  contagious. 
All  the  saints  kept  a  sharp  lookout  for  this  fault,  and  were 


ON  FAULTS  OF  CHARACTER.  175 

pitiless  in  denouncing  it;  in  fact  they  were  so  determined 
to  exclude  this  pest  from  the  Orders  they  founded,  that 
even  when  the  singularity  evidently  proceeded  from  the 
operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit  (as  is  by  no  means  impossible) 
they  preferred  to  incur  the  loss  of  really  excellent  sub- 
jects, even  saints,  than  keep  them  to  the  prejudice  of  the 
Community  life.  Thus  the  great  St.  Pachomius  sent  away 
St.  Mercarius,  a  man  of  eminent  sanctity,  for  fear  lest  the 
extraordinary  nature  of  his  life  might  be  harmful  to  the 
regularity  of  the  House.  For  the  same  reason  St.  Simon 
Stylites  was  dismissed  by  the  Superior  of  the  monastery 
he  had  entered. 

Yet  in  both  the  instances  we  have  quoted,  it  was  un- 
doubtedly the  Spirit  of  God  who  animated  those  illustri- 
ous recluses.  Now  cases  such  as  these  are  very  rare,  and 
for  one  individual  who,  by  the  promptings  of  divine  grace, 
is  led  to  diverge  to  a  slight  extent  from  the  ordinary  way, 
there  are  hundreds,  nay  thousands,  who  in  doing  so  are 
only  actuated  by  self-love.  Great  firmness,  great  sever- 
ity in  fact,  is  wanted  to  extirpate  this  evil.  If  the  grand 
saints  of  the  Thebaid  are  lauded  for  their  wisdom  and 
prudence  in  sending  away  other  saints  who  departed  from 
the  ordinary  way,  wliat  ought  not  to  be  the  rigor  exercised 
by  the  Superiors  of  Religious  Houses  in  deahng  with  sub- 
jects who  threaten  to  upset  everything  by  reason  of  the 
ridiculous  vagaries  suggested  by  their  pride  and  folly? 

God  invariably  inspires  the  saints  whom  He  conducts 
by  extraordinary  ways  with  a  real  repugnance  (this  is  not 
too  strong  a  word)  for  these  ways.  Consequently  any 
one  who  takes  delight  in  them  is  unquestionably  a  dupe 
of  the  devil.  The  novice  who  has  humbly  offered  his  obla- 
tion in  union  with  the  spirit  of  the  Infant  Jesus,  who  was 
presented  in  the  Temple  by  the  hands  of  His  holy  Mother, 
will  not  fall  a  prey  to  this  miserable  delusion. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

FAULTS  OP  CHAKACTER  CONTINUED.   HOW  THEY  ARE  TO 
BE  CURED. 

10.  Sensuousness. — ^This  bad  quality  may,  if  not  cor- 
rected, greatly  endanger  the  soul's  welfare;  and  at  all 
events  it  offers  a  serious  obstacle  to  the  acquisition  of  the 
fundamental  virtues  of  the  religious  state. 

There  may  be  said  to  be  three  kinds  of  sensuality :  men- 
tal, moral,  and  physical. 

The  first  inclines  the  mind  only  to  dwell  upon  pleasant 
thoughts,  to  indulge  recollections  that  are  agreeable,  to 
create  idle  fancies  and  think  of  them  with  complacency, 
to  give  the  preference  to  books  which  on  account  of  the 
author's  style  or  the  subject  he  treats,  flatter  and  gratify 
the  imagination,  etc. 

The  second  awakens  tender  feelings,  leads  one  to  make 
friends  with  individuals  who  not  only  suit  our  taste  but 
whose  conversation  and  manners  please  us,  whose  person 
generally  and  even  the  features  of  their  countenance 
attract  us.  (Alas!  how  undesirable  in  one  who  aspires 
to  become  the  spouse  of  Our  Lord  in  His  character  of 
Victim.)  This  fatal  propensity  leads  to  the  formation  of 
particular  friendships,  and  it  is  well  known  how  strongly 
they  are  condemned  by  all  founders  of  Orders. 

The  third  kind  of  sensuousness  is  that  of  the  body. 
One's  bearing  and  deportment,  the  attitudes  assumed 
whether  sitting  or  standing,  complaints  of  the  weather 

176 


ON  FAULTS  OF  CHARACTER.  177 

when  it  is  too  hot  or  too  cold,  certain  niceties  about  eating 
and  drinking,  fastidiousness  about  one's  cell,  one's  bed, 
etc.,  dislikes  which  are  expressed  without  scruple;  all 
these  things  show  that  the  soul  is  infected  with  that  mal- 
ady of  which  one  ought  to  be  ashamed,  which  is  known  as 
physical  sensuaUty. 

Owing  to  the  weak  and  soft  lines  on  which  education  is 
conducted  in  the  present  day,  this  evil  is  by  no  means  rare 
and  is  becoming  daily  more  widespread.     It  is  obviously  a 
formidable  enemy  to  the  Christian  life,  even  in  the  world; 
how  much  the  more  is  it  opposed  to  the  life  of  the  cloister? 

11.  OvERSENsiTivENESS. — ^This  fault  of  character  is  in 
some  way  connected  with  the  preceding  one,  but  it  seems 
to  be  less  dangerous.  Extreme  sensitiveness  is  an  indica- 
tion of  weakness  of  will,  but  it  does  not  appear  to  be  of  a 
nature  likely  to  entail  serious  harm  to  the  sOul  that  is 
subject  to  its  sway;  yet  we  find  St.  Francis  of  Sales  speak- 
ing very  severely  of  this  pecuHarity.  "  You  tell  me,"  he 
says  to  his  spiritual  daughters,  "  that  there  are  some  among 
you  so  sensitive  that  they  can  not  bear  to  be  reproved 
without  becoming  quite  agitated,  and  often  made  ill  by 
it.  Well,  if  such  is  the  case,  one  must  show  them  the  door; 
for  if  they,  being  sick,  will  not  be  treated  for  their  malady, 
nor  allow  the  proper  remedies  to  be  administered  to  effect 
their  cure,  it  is  plain  that  by  so  doing  they  become  incor- 
rigible and  destroy  all  hope  of  their  restoration  to  health. 
As  for  sensitiveness,  whether  moral  or  physical,  it  is  one  of 
the  greatest  hindrances  to  be  met  with  in  the  religious 
life,  and  consequently  the  utmost  care  must  be  taken  not 
to  receive  those  who  are  deeply  impregnated  with  it,  be- 
cause they  will  not  be  cured,  and  even  refuse  to  make  use 
of  the  means  of  cure." 

12.  Pusillanimity  and  Indolence. — Next  to  the  want 
of  intelligence  this  is  perhaps  the  most  incorrigible  of 
faults.    We  have  heard  what  Father  Faber  says  in  regard 


178  ON  FAULTS  OF  CHARACTER. 

to  the  ruling  passion:  ^'I  have  met  with  men  who  had 
succeeded  in  almost  entirely  conquering  that  terrible 
enemy.  But  I  have  never  met  with  any  one  whose  domi- 
nant passion  was  indolence  and  who  contrived  to  van- 
quish the  force  of  inertia."  That  is,  in  fact,  the  cause 
of  our  impotence,  and  it  is  no  exaggeration  to  add,  of  the 
powerlessness  of  grace  itself,  the  force  of  inertia.  Grace 
has  no  hold  on  a  character  of  this  description.  The  slothful 
man  does  not  himself  possess  the  means  of  extricating 
himself  from  his  unhappy  condition;  he  has  little  or  no 
self-knowledge,  for  self-knowledge  supposes  study  of  our 
own  interior  and  exterior  life,  and  painstaking  labor  con- 
nected with  it.  He  has  a  horror  of  everything  difficult, 
he  shrinks  from  everything  that  will  disturb  his  repose, 
he  lives  in  a  sort  of  moral  apathy  and  vagueness  of  mind, 
and  is  perfectly  contented  with  this  state.  Endeavor 
to  arouse  him  out  of  it  and  you  will  find  your  remonstrances 
and  your  exertions  little  understood  and  still  less  appre- 
ciated. 

Thus  there  is  not  much  to  be  hoped  for.  When  we 
speak  of  virtue  it  implies  energy,  vigor.  The  religious 
life  implies  a  generous  striving  after  justice,  contin- 
ual self-immolation,  unremitting  sacrifice.  Now  energy, 
moral  vigor,  a  generous  tending  toward  what  is  good, 
self-surrender,  sacrifice,  are  terms  which  either  have  no 
meaning  for  the  pusillanimous  soul  or  only  serve  to  alarm 
her;  consequently  all  hope  must  be  given  up  of  ever 
making  her  fit  to  be  a  spouse  of  the  crucified  God,  a  victim 
of  His  Sacred  Heart. 

Some  prominent  features  have  now  been  pointed  out 
of  those  miserable  faults  of  character,  which  are  a 
iiindrance  even  to  admittance  amongst  the  favored  children 
of  God,  unless  the  necessary  means  for  their  correction 
are  employed.  Our  nature  is  indeed  evil  and  corrupt 
at  the  bottom.    And  how  little  as  yet  do  we  know  it.' 


ON  FAULTS  OF  CHARACTER.  179 

We  have  enumerated  some  of  its  sad,  its  deadly  fruits; 
but  how  many  other  miseries  would  still  have  to  be  dis- 
closed, how  many  ignominious  sores  would  have  to  be 
probed,  if  we  were  to  examine  all  the  details  of  the  life 
of  the  old  man,  the  original  life  of  each  one  of  us.  But 
we  will  go  no  further,  and  rest  content  with  having  said 
what  are  the  principal  faults  which  endanger  and  com- 
promise our  religious  vocation.  Let  us  now  see  if  there 
is  a  remedy  for  our  malady,  or  whether  we  have  reason 
to  despair  because  we  are  conscious  of  the  miseries,  the 
unruly  passions  within  us. 

We  must  never  be  discouraged;  it  is  the  worst  thing 
that  could  happen  to  us,  for  there  is  a  remedy  for  these 
moral  obliquities,  formidable  as  they  are,  and  this  remedy 
is  a  good  will  aided  by  divine  grace. 

St.  Francis  of  Sales,  speaking  to  his  dear  daughters  of 
the  Visitation  on  the  subject  of  the  various  faults  that 
postulants  and  novices  may  have,  while  acknowledging 
some  of  them  to  be  very  tiresome  and  to  require  special 
and  close  attention  on  the  part  of  the  Superiors,  does  not 
fail  to  say  repeatedly  that  after  all  a  novice  must  not  be 
dismissed  unless  she  is  wilfully  incorrigible;  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  is  well  to  admit  one  who  is  endowed  with 
a  generous  will,  and  is  prepared  resolutely  to  adopt  the 
spiritual  remedies  given  her  for  her  cure.  We  quote  the 
words  of  the  saint,  they  are  so  wise  and  so  encouraging  : 

"Certain  faults  ought  not  to  stand  in  the  way  of  ad- 
mission to  the  novitiate,  provided  the  postulant  is  anxious 
to  improve,  is  willing  to  submit,  and  to  make  use  of  the 
medicaments  suited  to  her  case.  And  although  great 
repugnance  may  be  felt  for  these  remedies,  and  they  can 
only  be  swallowed  with  a  great  effort,  that  does  not  matter 
so  long  as  she  does  not  leave  off  making  use  of  them;  for 
physic  is  always  bitter  to  the  taste,  and  it  is  not  possible 
to  take  it  with  as  good  a  grace  as  if  it  were  a  palatable 


180  ON  FAULTS  OF  CHARACTER. 

potion.  But  for  all  that  it  does  not  fail  to  work,  and  ir 
all  the  more  efficacious  the  more  pain  and  trouble  it  causes. 
Take  for  instance  a  young  person  of  strong  passions;  she 
is  irascible,  several  times  she  gives  way  to  temper;  still, 
if  for  all  that  she  is  desirous  to  be  cured,  if  she  wishes 
her  Superiors  to  correct  her,  to  mortify  her,  and  prescribe 
what  is  needful  for  her  cure,  although  the  application 
of  those  remedies  may  be  distasteful  and  trying,  one  must 
not  refuse  to  vote  for  her  when  the  time  comes  for  her 
profession,  for  not  only  has  she  a  good  will,  but  she  is 
willing  to  make  use  of  the  remedies  given  her  for  her  cure, 
however  painful  and  difficult  this  may  be. 

''There  will  be  some  among  the  novices  who  have  been 
badly  brought  up,  who  are  ill-bred  and  uncouth,  or  rough 
and  rugged  by  nature.  Doubtless  they  will  experience 
far  more  trouble  and  difficulty  than  others  who  are  natu- 
rally gentle  and  tractable,  and  they  will  commit  more 
faults  than  those  who  are  better  bred;  nevertheless,  if 
they  are  anxious  to  be  corrected  and  giv€  proof  of  a  firm 
determination  to  take  the  remedies,  whatever  they  may  cost 
them,  I  would  give  them  my  vote  in  spite  of  their  failings." 

Somewhat  further  on  the  saint  adds:  "The  third  thing 
which  must  be  noticed  is  whether  the  novice  has  worked 
hard  in  her  year  of  noviceship,  if  she  has  suffered  and 
profited  by  the  medicaments  given  her,  if  she  has  carried 
out  the  resolutions  she  made  on  entering  the  novitiate 
to  correct  her  hasty  temper  and  perverse  inclinations, 
for  the  year's  novitiate  was  given  her  for  that  purpose. 
If  it  be  seen  that  she  has  persevered  in  her  determination, 
and  her  will  to  make  further  progress  remains  firm  and 
unaltered ;  if  she  has  striven  diligently  to  reform  and  form 
herself  conformably  to  the  Rule  and  Constitutions  and 
still  desires  not  to  relax  her  efforts  in  future,  that  is  a  good 
sign  and  sufficient  reason  for  giving  her  one's  vote." 

The  gentle  saint,  writing  to  one  or  other  of  his  daughters, 


ON  FAULTS  OF  CHARACTER,  181 

according  to  their  several  needs,  says  much  the  same  as 
what  he  said  in  the  Conferences  addressed  to  the  Com- 
munity. For  the  instruction  of  novices  we  will  allow 
ourselves  to  transcribe  part  of  one  of  his  letters. 

"Do  you  know,  my  dear  child,  what  a  monastery  really 
is?  It  is  a  school  of  correction  in  which  eveiy  scholar 
should  learn  to  let  herself  be  manipulated,  planed,  and 
polished,  in  order  that  when  all  roughnesses  are  smoothed 
away  she  may  be  joined,  jointed,  and  fixed  more  accurately 
in  accordance  with  the  will  of  God.  The  wish  to  be  cor- 
rected is  a  clear  mark  of  perfection. 

'^  The  monastery  is  also  a  hospital  for  the  spiritually  sick 
who  desire  to  be  cured,  and  for  that  purpose  surrender 
themselves  to  be  bled,  to  be  operated  upon  with  the  lancet, 
to  be  seared  with  red-hot  iron,  to  be  scorched  on  the  flame, 
to  swallow  the  bitterest  of  medicaments.  Thus,  in  the 
early  ages  of  the  Church,  Religious  were  called  Therapeu- 
tics, i.e.,  healers.  Ponder  upon  that,  my  child,  and 
do  not  heed  what  self-love  may  urge  to  the  contrary, 
but  make  this  resolution  gently,  lovingly.  It  is  a  choice 
between  death  and  cure;  and  since  the  death  of  the  soul 
is  impossible,  I  desire  to  be  cured;  and  in  order  to  be  cured 
I  am  determined  to  suffer  correction,  undergo  the  neces- 
sary treatment,  and  beg  my  physicians  not  to  spare  me 
any  suffering  that  may  advance  my  cure.'* 

Hence  we  see  how  much  importance  St.  Francis  of  Sales 
attached  to  a  good  will,  which  is  always  preceded  and 
accompanied  by  divine  grace.  He  despaired  of  no  one 
who  possessed  it.  It  is  the  sacrificial  blade  which  slowly, 
perhaps,  but  surely,  achieves  the  slaughter  of  the  vic- 
tim; it  is  the  fire  on  the  altar  which  will  ultimately  con- 
sume the  holocaust.  The  saint  is  so  desirous  that  his 
admonition  regarding  the  non-rejection  of  those  novices 
who,  notwithstanding  their  imperfections,  prove  by  their 
efforts  to  amend  that  they  are  not  incorrigible,  should  be 


182  ON  FAULTS  OF  CHARACTER. 

remembered  and  acted  upon,  that  he  repeats  it  at  the  con- 
clusion of  the  Conference  from  which  an  extract  has  been 
given. 

Let  the  young  novice  then  take  heart,  and  allow  noth- 
ing to  discourage  him.  The  fact  that  he  has  been  admit- 
ted into  the  novitiate  is  in  itself  a  proof  that  his  Superiors 
are  disposed  to  have  patience  with  him.  Let  him  be  sim- 
ple, pUant,  frank  as  a  child;  but  let  him  at  the  same  time 
aspire  to  become  '*  a  perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of  the 
age  of  the  fulness  of  Christ/'  as  St.  Paul  says  (Eph.  iv. 
13);  and  consequently  he  must  be  generous,  constant, 
resolved  to  make  any  and  every  sacrifice.  What  graces, 
what  peace,  what  holy  joy  will  be  the  portion  of  such  a 
one  in  the  paradise  of  the  religious  profession! 


CHAPTER  XII. 

ON  RELIGIOUS  SIMPLICITY. 

After  having  discoursed  so  long  about  the  ego,  self, 
with  its  perverse  tendencies,  about  the  ruling  passion  and 
the  different  faults  of  character,  subjects  which  at  last 
prove  wearisome  and  depressing,  we  will  turn  for  a  time 
to  a  more  agreeable  topic,  and  refresh  our  mind  with  the 
consideration  and  study  of  a  virtue  whose  charm  no  one 
can  resist:  religious  simplicity.  This  delightful  flower 
flourishes  in  the  mystic  garden  of  the  life  of  perfection; 
how  delicious  is  its  fragrance,  how  gladly  the  eye  rests 
upon  its  bright  and  lovely  blossom!  Happy  those  who 
possess  it  and  cultivate  it  with  all  the  care  it  deserves. 
Happy  the  period  of  the  novitiate,  so  favorable  to  the 
acquisition  of  this  priceless  treasure!  Unknown  to  the 
world,  it  forms  the  wealth  of  the  cloister,  the  joy,  the  hap- 
piness of  all  the  Communities  which  are  pleasing  in  God's 
sight.  Sweet  simplicity,  blessed  outpouring  of  the  Heart 
of  Jesus,  celestial  perfume  emanating  from  the  holy  house 
at  Nazareth,  virtue  beloved  by  and  intimately  connected 
with  the  earthly  Trinity,  precious  foretaste  of  heavenly 
felicity ! 

Of  this  virtue  we  shall  now  attempt  to  speak,  and  we 
beg  the  novice  to  listen  with  more  attention  than  ever. 
Great  graces  will  be  his  portion  if  he  appreciates  the  beauty 
of  this  wondrous  virtue,  if  he  rehshes  its  sweetness,  if  he 
practises  it  lovingly.  A  novice  who  is  truly  simple,  sim- 
ple as  were  the  saints,  is  a  consolation  to  the  Heart  of 

183 


184  ON  RELIGIOUS  SIMPLICITY. 

Jesus,  and  a  blessing  to  the  whole  Community  where  he  is. 
We  will  explain  to  him  in  what  simphcity  really  consists, 
and  how  it  is  to  be  practised  in  the  novitiate  so  as  to  have 
it  for  a  friend  and  companion  during  the  remainder  of  his 
life  here  below. 

Simplicity  is  a  virtue  which  restores  us  to  and  establishes 
us  in  unity,  just  as  the  contrary  vice,  craftiness,  makes  us 
double;  that  is  why  the  name  of  duplicity  is  often  given  to 
that  vice.  But  what  we  have  said  needs  explanation:  it 
is  a  virtue  which  restores  us  to  and  establishes  us  in  unity,  or 
oneness.  These  words  are  somewhat  obscure.  They  sig- 
nify that  a  soul  which  is  simple,  simple  with  the  super- 
natural simphcity  of  the  children  of  God,  has  but  one 
single  aim,  one  single  eye,  one  single  intention  in  all  that 
it  does.  It  does  not  tend  toward  two  ends,  but  toward 
one  only;  and  what  is  the  object  of  this  single  aim,  this 
single  purpose — ^what  is  this  one,  this  sole  end? 

It  is  God,  God  only;  His  will  alone.  His  good  pleasure 
alone.  His  interests  alone.  His  glory  alone.  But  we  will 
listen  to  St.  Francis  of  Sales,  since  the  subject  we  are  con- 
sidering is  a  favorite  one  with  him. 

*'In  the  first  place,"  he  says,  "we  must  know  what  this 
virtue  of  simplicity  is.  You  know  that  we  generally  call 
a  material  simple  if  it  is  not  embroidered,  and  is  without 
lining;  for  instance,  we  say  of  a  person  that  she  is  dressed 
very  simply  because  her  gown  is  not  made  of  figured  stuff, 
or  elaborately  trimmed,  or  fashioned  so  that  the  lining  is 
seen;  but  the  whole  costume  is  made  of  one  material,  and 
made  very  plainly.  Simplicity,  then,  is  nothing  more  or 
less  than  an  act  of  charity  pure  and  simple,  which  has  this 
one  only  object,  to  acquire  the  love  of  God,  and  we  are 
simple  of  heart  when  we  have  no  ulterior  purpose  in  all 
that  we  do. 

"  The  story,  which  is  so  familiar  to  all  of  us,  of  the  two 
sisters  of  Bethania,  Martha  and  Mary,  who  entertained 


ON  RELIGIOUS  SIMPLICITY.  185 

Our  Lord,  may  be  recalled  most  appropriately  here;  for 
do  you  not  see  that  Martha,  although  her  intention,  her 
wish  to  entertain  Our  Lord  well,  was  praiseworthy,  was 
yet  reproved  by  the  divine  Master,  because  besides  the 
laudable  object  she  proposed  to  herself  in  her  activity, 
she  regarded  Our  Lord  too  much  as  man,  and  thus  she 
thought  He  was  like  other  guests,  for  whom  it  was  not 
enough  to  serve  one  dish,  to  prepare  an  ordinary  meal, 
and  on  that  account  she  exerted  herself  very  much  in 
order  to  set  a  more  elaborate  repast  before  Him;  and  in 
thus  busying  herself  she  added  to  her  primary  motive, 
the  love  of  God,  several  other  minor  and  secondary  mo- 
tives and  intentions,  and  for  these  Our  Lord  reproved 
her,  saying:  *  Martha,  Martha,  thou  art  careful  and 
troubled  about  many  things,  but  one  thing  is  necessary: 
Mary  hath  chosen  the  best  part,  which  shall  not  be  taken 
from  her/ 

"This  act  of  single-minded  charity  then,  which  causes  us 
to  have  no  other  end  or  aim  in  all  our  actions  but  the  sole 
desire  to  please  God,  is  the  part  Mary  chose,  the  one  alone 
necessary,  and  that  is  simplicity;  a  virtue  inseparable 
from  charity,  the  more  so  because  it  looks  direct  to  God, 
without  tolerating  any  admixture  of  self-interest;  other- 
wise it  would  no  longer  be  simpUcity,  for  simplicity  or 
singleness  of  aim  must  be  free  from  any  undercurrent  of 
creature  interests,  any  consideration  of  human  things; 
God  must  be  all  in  all.  The  pagans,  even  those  amongst 
them  who  discoursed  most  eloquently  about  the  other 
virtues,  knew  nothing  of  this  one,  any  more  than  of  hu- 
mility." 

Thus  the  simple  soul  is  the  one  who,  illumined  by  the 
light  of  faith,  and  following  it  alone  as  her  guide,  looks 
to  God  as  her  final  end,  and  is  only  anxious  to  please  Him, 
without  any  human  considerations.  The  perfect  amity 
which  results  from  this  is  evident  in  all  her  actions. 


186  ON  RELIGIOUS  SIMPLICITY. 

In  a  soul  of  this  nature  one  does  not  find  one  way  of 
thinking  and  another  of  speaking.  Her  words  express 
her  thoughts.  Is  it  possible  to  deceive  almighty  God 
by  utterances  which  were  at  variance  with  the  inward 
thought?    Is  not  God  the  searcher  of  hearts  and  reins? 

In  like  manner  the  single-minded  soul  does  not  act  in 
two  different  ways,  one  in  secret  and  the  other  in  public. 
Her  behavior  is  the  same  always  and  everywhere;  and 
if  some  diversities  are  noticeable,  it  is  only  what  is  re- 
quired by  charity,  or  for  the  sake  of  conformity  to  the 
rules  of  good-breeding;  she  is  not  actuated  by  human 
respect,  the  desire  to  please  her  fellow-creatures  and  gain 
their  esteem,  but  by  the  consciousness  that  in  altering 
her  conduct  she  is  acting  in  conformity  with  the  good 
pleasure  of  God,  in  obedience  to  the  laws  of  Christian 
discretion  which  He  Himself  ordained. 

In  the  practice  of  virtue  her  simplicity  is  yet  more  ap- 
parent. In  the  authority  of  the  Church  she  sees  God 
alone,  and  consequently  her  faith  is  simple,  unquestioning, 
unfaltering,  unconditional,  whether  in  respect  to  an  ancient 
dogma  or  to  a  recently  defined  truth. 

Her  hope  also  is  simple,  because  of  the  knowledge  which 
she  has  acquired  through  faith  of  the  promises  of  God, 
and  His  immutable  fidelity  in  fulfilling  them;  and  the 
spirit  of  abandonment  of  herself  to  divine  Providence  and 
to  His  action  in  her  regard  causes  her  to  rest  simply,  fear- 
lessly, and  confidingly  in  His  hands.  Finally,  her  charity 
toward  God  is  full  of  filial  simplicity  because  it  is  un- 
alloyed; simplicity  leading  her  to  refer  everything  to  Him, 
lovingly,  unreservedly,  invariably,  with  childlike  affection. 

And  this  same  spirit  pervades  every  act  of  virtue. 
Simplicity  is  a  disposition  of  the  soul  which  is  universal 
in  its  influence.  It  enters  into  aU  that  we  do;*  and  for 
the  matter  of  that,  it  is  necessary  that  it  should  do  so, 
if  our  works  are  to  be  pleasing  to  God,  since  by  it  alone 


ON  RELIGIOUS  SIMPLICITY.  187 

are  they  referred  back  to  God,  their  first  beginning.  Here 
perhaps  we  see  the  true  meaning  of  Our  Lord's  words: 
**  If  thy  eye  be  single  thy  whole  body  shall  be  lightsome" 
(Matt.  vi.  22).  Thy  whole  body,  that  is,  thy  life  in  its 
entirety.  What  in  fact  would  mortification  be  worth 
if  it  were  not  single  in  its  aim?  And  charity  toward  our 
neighbor?  or  our  zeal,  our  pious  practices,  our  modesty, 
patience,  and  all  other  virtues? 

Such  is  supernatural  simplicity,  the  single-mindedness 
of  the  true  children  of  God.  It  is  clearly  indispensable 
to  the  perfection  of  the  Christian  life,  and  accordingly 
to  the  religious  life.  It  is  essential  to  the  latter  because 
it  is  in  itself  the  perfection  of  the  Christian  life;  but,  as 
we  have  already  frequently  remarked,  to  speak  of  the 
perfect  Christian  life  is  equivalent  to  speaking  of  the  life 
of  perfect  self-surrender.  It  does  indeed  become  the 
victim  to  be  single-minded,  that  is  to  say,  to  be  all  for 
God,  for  His  good  pleasure  and  His  glory.  What  is 
his  state?  In  whose  presence  does  he  live?  To  whom 
is  his  life,  his  being  dedicated,  all  that  he  has  or  is?  His 
state  is  to  be  bound  upon  the  altar  of  God;  he  is  continually 
in  the  presence  of  God,  who  directs  and  observes  all  that 
he  does;  he  exists  only  for  God.  He  belongs  absolutely 
and  entirely  to  the  God  who  accepted  his  oblation  of 
himself,  who  is  the  sole  end  of  his  self-immolation.  Hence 
nothing  is  more  simple  than  the  victim,  no  state  more 
perfect  in  its  single-mindedness  than  his.  How  great 
the  graces,  the  divine  favors  which  will  assuredly  be  be- 
stowed on  him! 

Such  simple  souls  are  moreover  a  blessing  to  their  Com- 
munity. St.  Francis  of  Assisi  exclaimed  in  reference  to 
Brother  Juniper,  who  was  a  model  of  religious  simplicity: 
**  Would  that  I  had  a  whole  forest  of  such  juniper-trees! " 

Not  only  are  simple  souls  a  benediction  to  the  Com- 
munity, they  constitute  its  special  charm.    Simplicity  in 


188  ON  RELIGIOUS  SIMPLICITY. 

speech,  in  demeanor,  in  behavior,  in  the  very  expression  of 
one's  countenance ;  simplicity  in  bearing  patiently  with  the 
faults  of  others,  in  showing  sympathy  with  one's  neighbor 
and  commiserating  him  when  he  is  in  trouble;  in  the  charity, 
self-devotion,  alacrity,  cordiality  wherewith  a  service 
is  rendered.  How  touching,  how  attractive  is  this  amiable 
virtue,  this  revelation  of  the  Heart  of  Jesus  and  the  heart 
of  His  holy  Mother!  What  peace,  what  happiness  this 
truly  celestial  grace  sheds  all  around! 

Thus  one  may  almost  say  God  becomes  perceptible, 
visible  in  the  soul  that  is  endowed  with  the  grace  of  sim- 
plicity. For,  as  Fr.  Grou  observes,  interior  simplicity 
is  reflected  on  the  outward  man;  and  the  clear-sighted 
eye  will  experience  no  difficulty  in  distinguishing  between 
two  pious  persons,  judging  by  their  mien,  their  physiog- 
nomy, their  manner  of  speech,  their  gestures,  their  bear- 
ing, which  is  the  one  whose  heart  is  simple.  It  is  im- 
possible to  delineate  the  impress  God  stamps  upon  the 
countenance,  the  very  look  of  the  eyes  and  tone  of  the 
voice,  the  general  deportment  of  the  individual  who  is 
His  own  possession.  Every  one  is  struck  by  the  effect 
produced  by  this  admirable  virtue,  though  but  few  know 
the  cause  of  it:  inward  singleness,  simplicity,  reflected 
on  the  exterior  person. 

God  dwells  in  such  a  soul,  and  she  abides  in  Him;  in 
this  all  is  said.  In  her  every  action  her  eyes  are  fixed 
solely  on  Him  who  is  her  first  beginning  and  her  final 
end.  She  has  not  a  single  glance  to  spare  for  herself. 
Were  she  to  look  both  on  God  and  on  herself,  her  eye  would 
not  be  single,  and  duphcity  would  consequently  enter  in. 
But  God  forbid!  For  her  it  is:  God  alone.  She  does 
not  ask  herself:  What  do  people  think  of  me?  Do  not 
they  consider  me  to  be  kind,  affable,  modest,  recollected, 
patient?  Such  a  thought  can  never  enter  her  mind,  or 
if  it  does,  through  a  freak  of  the  fancy,  she  rejects  it  with 


ON  RELIGIOUS  SIMPLICITY.  189 

horror.  But  if  such  a  thought  should  occur  to  one  just 
at  the  commencement  of  the  Christian  Ufe,  one  may  safely 
affirm  that  it  is  not  possible  that  it  should  occur  at  the 
end,  when  the  soul  has  succeeded  in  detaching  herself 
from  everything  human  which  is  of  a  double  nature, 
many-sided  and  involved,  and  finding  her  rest  in  God, 
who  is  alone  essential  unity.  And  since  she  refers  all 
to  this  one  end,  as  all  she  does  is  focussed  in  this  single 
center,  she  does  not  depart  from  unity,  and  thus  she  is 
always  admirably  simple.  Nor  is  she  inconstant  in  her 
practice  of  charity,  patience,  self-devotion.  How  could 
she  be  so?  If  she  acted  with  a  view  to  creatures  or  to  self, 
she  might  become  so,  because  the  good  pleasure  of  all 
creatures  is  subject  to  change,  and  those  who  follow  it 
in  its  vagaries  become  variable  as  they  are.  But  the  holy 
will  of  God  is  immutable.  We  always  know  how  to  please 
Him.  We  need  not  be  uneasy  as  to  what  His  judgments 
of  us  will  be  if  our  intention  is  upright  and  pure.  Such 
is  the  peace,  the  tranquillity,  the  unity  in  which  the  soul 
rests;  this  forms  a  kind  of  unbroken  union  with  God  and 
a  settled  abode  in  Him,  which  is  the  commencement  of 
eternal  bliss. 

Happy  the  novice  who  attains  to  the  possession  of  this 
priceless  favor!  Happy  the  novitiate  who  can  boast  a 
large  number  of  novices  who  exhale  the  celestial  perfume 
of  religious  simplicity ! 

We  will  now  proceed  to  see  what  are  the  dehcious  fruits 
which  simplicity  bears  in  the  practice  of  the  virtue  most 
indispensable  in  the  novitiate. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

ON  SIMPLICITY  IN  THE   PRACTICE  OF  OBEDIENCE. 

We  propose  to  treat  of  obedience  and  its  various  char- 
acteristics in  the  third  part  of  this  work,  which  will  be 
devoted  to  the  consideration  of  the  religious  vows;  but 
whilst  still  speaking  of  the  novitiate,  we  can  not  pass  by 
this  fair  virtue  which  is  so  important  a  factor  in  training 
the  novice.  We  shall  therefore  consider  that  characteris- 
tic of  obedience  which  is  most  necessary  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  religious  life,  i.e.,  simplicity. 

The  young  novice  will  do  well  to  take  as  addressed  to 
himself  the  exhortation  of  St.  Paul  to  the  Philippians: 
"Be  blameless  and  sincere,  children  of  God"  (Phil.  ii.  13). 
The  novice  is  in  fact  quite  speciall}^  the  child  of  God. 
Whatever  his  age  may  be  when  he  enters  the  novitiate,  he 
ought  to  consider  himself  as  being  still  in  those  early  years 
of  life  when  one  has  everything  to  learn,  and  that  without 
self-assertion  or  opposition,  but  in  the  simplest,  most 
childlike  manner.  He  may  appropriately  apply  to  him- 
self these  words  of  St.  Peter  with  all  humility:  "As  new- 
born babes  desire  the  rational  milk  (the  milk  of  religious 
perfection)  without  guile.  SiciU  modo  geniti  infantes" 
(I.  Peter  ii.  2). 

If  the  novice  is  a  child,  he  will  want  a  guide.  Obedience 
is  that  guide.  To  its  direction  he  must  surrender  him- 
self as  if  he  had  no  will  of  his  own.  It  will  lead  him  with- 
out fail  to  the  blessed  end  of  liis  vocation,  which  is  relig- 

190 


SIMPLICITY  IN  THE  PRACTICE  OF  OBEDIENCE.  191 

ious  perfection.  Simplicity  in  obedience  is  the  super- 
natural frame  of  mind  which  makes  us  see  God  in  the 
Master  of  Novices,  the  divine  will  in  his  will;  and  this  must 
be  done  without  hesitation,  without  putting  one's  own 
construction  upon  it;  one  must  merely  obey.  St.  Aloy- 
sius  Gonzaga,  the  model  and  patron  of  novices,  is  re- 
ported to  have  said:  "Every  Superior  is  the  lieutenant  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and  since  Jesus  Christ  is  infinite  wisdom,  He 
makes  His  representatives  infallible  in  regard  to  their 
subjects."  It  is  this  exalted  and  holy  view  which  faith 
takes  of  obedience  that  gives  it  the  beautiful  and  touching 
character  of  religious  simplicity. 

Simple  obedience  has  two  marked  characteristics: 
1.  Human  judgment  has  no  part  in  it;  2.  It  is  free  from 
all  dissimulation.  We  will  proceed  to  examine  these 
characteristics. 

1.  Human  judgment  has  no  part  in  it. 

When  the  Superior  speaks,  it  is  God  Himself  who  speaks; 
there  is  nothing  more  to  be  said.  It  is  a  matter  of  perfect 
indifference  what  the  action  to  be  performed  may  be,  whether 
difficult  or  easy,  pleasant  or  painful  to  nature.  The  com- 
mand given  is  not  to  be  looked  at  critically,  we  must  not 
seek  to  discover  the  motives  actuating  him  who  issued  it; 
in  it  we  must  only  see  the  divine  behest,  which  can  not  be 
wrong,  the  divine  will  made  known  to  us  by  the  Hps  of  the 
Superior;  that  is  enough  for  one  who  is  truly  obedient 
and  single-minded,  whose  will  is  upright  and  simple  as 
his  heart. 

St.  Gregory  (Pope)  says:  "One  who  is  really  obedient 
does  not  scrutinize  the  purpose  of  his  Superior  or  discuss 
the  orders  given  him,  because  he  has  entirely  submitted 
his  own  judgment.  His  delight  is  to  do  what  he  is  bid. 
Obedience  makes  him  happy." 

Such  were  the  novices  in  the  deserts  of  the  Thebaid. 
Listen  to  the  account  of  the  novitiate  of  Paul  the  Simple; 


192  SIMPLICITY  IN  THE  PRACTICE  OF  OBEDIENCE. 

this  example  and  the  following  one,  contrasting  so  forcibly 
as  they  do  with  the  effeminacy,  with  the  spirit  of  self- 
sufficiency  and  of  pride  that  prevail  in  our  own  day,  must 
not  be  regarded  as  an  exaggeration.  It  would  be  a  mis- 
fortune for  us  did  we  deem  them  such. 

When  Paul,  surnamed  the  Simple  on  account  of  his 
extraordinary  integrity  and  simplicity,  addressed  himself 
to  St.  Antony  (he  was  the  first  to  express  the  wish  to  share 
the  fife  of  the  Father  of  Anchorites),  the  patriarch  in- 
formed him  that  the  first  virtue  required  in  a  novice  was 
obedience,  and  that  he  could  not  hope  to  succeed  in  be- 
coming his  disciple,  and  persevering  in  the  fife  he  pro- 
posed to  adopt,  imless  he  obeyed  implicitly  the  orders 
given  him.  Paul  promised  to  do  so  in  the  sincerity  of  his 
heart.  Then  the  trials  of  the  novitiate  began  for  him. 
The  first  proof  of  submission  which  Antony  required  of 
him  was  to  remain  at  prayer  outside  his  cell,  and  not  to 
stir  until  some  work  was  brought  for  him  to  do;  mean- 
while the  saint,  shut  up  in  his  cell,  looked  out  of  the  win- 
dow furtively  from  time  to  time  to  see  if  his  disciple  was 
acquitting  himself  of  his  prescribed  task.  He  left  him 
kneehng  there  exposed  to  the  scorching  sun  during  the 
day,  and  to  the  cold  at  night;  Paul  never  changed  his 
place  or  his  posture,  or  ceased  his  prayers. 

After  this  long  and  painful  trial,  in  which  the  saint  could 
not  refrain  from  admiring  the  simplicity  and  patience  he 
had  so  severely  tested,  he  brought  his  novice  some  branches 
of  palm,  and  told  him  to  copy  the  way  in  which  he  plaited 
them;  but  when  Paul's  work  was  finished,  he  foimd  fault 
with  it,  and  said  it  must  be  undone  and  done  over  again; 
this  made  the  task  longer  and  more  arduous,  but  Paul  set 
himself  to  it  without  allowing  his  countenance  to  show 
the  slightest  sign  of  annoyance. 

Thus  Paul,  the  first  disciple  of  St.  Antony,  began  his 
noviceship.     He  simply  abandoned  himself  unreservedly 


SIMPLICITY  IN  THE  PRACTICE  OF  OBEDIENCE.  193 

to  the  guidance  of  his  saintly  director.  He  saw  Grod  in 
his  person,  the  adorable  will  of  God  in  every  order  he 
issued;  and  nothing  could  make  him  think  differently, 
not  even  the  harshness  of  the  commands  or  the  apparent 
contradictions  involved  in  them. 

It  was  with  similar  and  no  less  admirable  dispositions 
that  the  Ven.  John  the  Dwarf  and  his  brother  presented 
themselves  to  a  hermit  who  dwelt  in  the  desert  and  was 
excessively  austere  in  his  manner  of  life.  His  great  solici- 
tude was  to  form  disciples  in  whom  the  life  of  nature  should 
be  completely  extinguished,  and  whose  only  impulses 
should  be  the  impulses  of  grace.  For  this  reason,  we  are 
told,  he  required  all  who  asked  for  admission  into  his 
monastery  to  be  prepared  to  have  no  will  of  their  own. 
Only  on  this  condition  would  he  consent  to  receive  them. 
Therefore  when  John  and  his  brother  presented  themselves 
he  took  care  to  question  them  concerning  this  most  essen- 
tial point;  and  on  their  promising  to  submit  blindly  to 
whatever  he  might  prescribe,  he  undertook  to  train  them. 
They  were  soon  required  to  give  proof  of  their  sincerity. 
The  old  man,  taking  up  a  stick  which  chanced  to  be  l3dng 
there,  and  which  had  been  dried  up  for  a  long  time,  thrust 
it  into  the  ground  and  ordered  John  the  Dwarf  to  water 
it  every  day  until  it  bore  fruit.  This  command  was  all 
the  more  difficult  of  execution  because  the  spring  whence 
the  water  had  to  be  fetched  was  at  a  distance  of  two  mil(3s, 
and  he  was  obliged  to  go  for  it  at  nightfall  and  could  not 
return  until  the  next  morning.  For  two  years  he  perse- 
vered in  this  arduous  toil  without  the  stick  showing  any 
sign  of  hfe.  At  length,  when  the  third  year  came,  God 
was  pleased  to  reward  his  obedience  openly  by  a  miracle. 
The  dry  branch,  contrary  to  all  anticipation,  came  out  into 
leaf  and  produced  a  number  of  fruits.  These  the  Supe- 
rior carried  to  the  church  where  the  hermits  were  assem- 
bled and  distributed  them  to  them,  saying:  "Eat  of  these, 


194  SIMPLICITY  IN  THE  PRACTICE  OF  OBEDIENCE. 

all  of  you,  my  brethren,  they  are  the  fruits  of  obedi- 
ence." 

Postumian,  who  visited  Egypt  in  402,  certified  to  Sul- 
picius  Severus  that  he  had  himself  seen  the  tree  in  ques- 
tion in  full  leaf  in  the  courtyard  of  the  monastery.  And 
it  is  said  that  even  to  this  day  there  is  a  monastery  in 
Egypt  dedicated  to  the  holy  recluse,  where  a  tree  is  shown 
which  is  believed  to  be  the  original  one,  and  is  conse- 
quently known  as  the  tree  of  obedience.  If  this  be  true, 
its  existence  at  this  time  would  be  a  fresh  miracle. 

From  this  we  see  what  manner  of  men  were  John  the 
Dwarf  and  the  master  he  chose  to  direct  him,  and  how 
God  recompensed  by  a  miracle  the  perfect  simplicity  of 
the  obedience  shown  by  the  fervent  novice.  In  fact, 
divine  Providence  has  often  been  pleased  to  manifest  His 
approval  of  this  marvelous  simplicity  by  a  miracle.  We 
read  that  one  day  St.  Benedict  bade  his  disciple,  St. 
Maurus,  go  to  the  rescue  of  a  brother  who  was  drowning; 
Maurus  obeyed,  walking  on  the  water  as  on  dry  land. 
The  illustrious  Mother  Anne  of  St.  Bartholomew,  who 
founded  the  Carmelites  in  France  in  the  beginning  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  did  not  know  how  to  write  when 
she  entered  upon  the  religious  life.  One  day  St.  Teresa 
told  her  to  take  a  pen  and  write  at  her  dictation;  Anne 
did  so  and  became  the  saint^s  secretary.  The  writer  of 
these  pages  was  acquainted  with  a  Superior,  since  de- 
parted this  life  in  the  odor  of  sanctity,  who  when  one  of 
her  subjects  was  ill,  bade  her  go  to  the  Blessed  Virgin 
and  in  her  name  tell  her  to  cure  her.  With  childlike  sim- 
plicity the  obedient  Religious  executed  the  order  given 
her;  she  addressed  herself  to  the  Mother  of  all  Consola- 
tion and  was  cured  immediately. 

These  instances,  which  might  be  multiplied  indefinitely, 
are  not  inserted  here  in  order  that  Masters  of  Novices  may 
think  themselves  warranted  to  do  what  saints  were  specially 


SIMPLICITY  IN  THE  PRACTICE  OF  OBEDIENCE.  195 

inspired  by  God  to  do  under  rare  circumstances;  but  as 
a  proof  of  the  pleasure  that  the  God  of  love  takes  in  simple 
obedience,  and  the  consolation  which  the  novice  gives 
to  His  Sacred  Heart,  when,  only  seeing  the  divine  will 
in  that  of  his  Superior,  he  goes  forward  in  the  path  of 
obedience  without  listening  to  the  dictates  of  human 
reason. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

ON  SIMPLICITY  IN  THE  PRACTICE  OF  OBEDIENCE  (CONTINUED). 

We  have  seen  for  our  consolation  that  in  simple  obe- 
dience human  reasoning,  human  judgment  have  no  part. 
Simple  obedience  is  also  free  from  dissimulation. 

2.  Simple  obedience  is  obedience  without  any  dis- 
guise. It  excludes  two  most  odious  vices:  hypocrisy  and 
cunning.  We  should  much  prefer  to  pass  over  these 
two  scourges  of  the  religious  life  without  mention,  but 
it  is  necessary  to  inspire  the  young  novice  with  an  extreme 
detestation  of  them. 

Some  minds  are  naturally  mclined  to  act  with  cunning 
and  deceit;  they  are  greatly  to  be  pitied.  Such  persons 
obey,  it  is  true,  but  from  motives  of  human  respect  or 
of  policy;  they  are  desirous  not  to  incur  blame,  and  to 
stand  well  with  the  Master  or  Mistress  of  Novices.  They 
readily  obey  their  Superior  when  he  gives  the  order  in 
person,  but  when  it  comes  from  one  whose  authority  is 
that  of  a  delegate,  their  obedience  is  imperfect  and  half- 
hearted. When  their  master's  eye  is  on  them,  they  are 
all  alacrity  and  zeal;  when  he  is  absent,  they  do  as  little 
as  possible.  St.  Paul  says:  "Be  obedient  .  .  .  with  fear 
and  tremblmg  in  the  simplicity  of  your  heart  as  to  Christ; 
not  serving  to  the  eye  as  it  were  pleasing  men,  but  as  the 
servants  of  Christ,  doing  the  will  of  God  ^rom  the  heart, 
with  a  good  will"  (Eph.  vi.  5-7).  But  the  persons  of 
whom  we  speak  understand  nothing  of  this  doctrine.    For 

196 


SIMPLICITY  IN  THE  PRACTICE  OF  OBEDIENCE.  197 

them  obedience  is  a  disagreeable  necessity,  and  they  only 
do  what  they  are  told  because  they  think  it  is  for  their 
own  advantage. 

Now  this  kind  of  obedience  is  almost  a  profanation  of 
the  word.  Obedience  is  ordained  by  God,  and  they  de- 
grade it  to  a  human  institution.  What  they  treat  with 
contempt  is  a  divine  grace;  they  defile  a  celestial  stream, 
they  convert  a  remedy  into  a  poison.  Thus  having  every 
appearance  of  this  virtue,  but  not  practising  it  in  reality, 
they  are  hypocrites,  victims  whom  God  rejects  as  He  did 
the  offerings  of  Cain;  they  seem  to  immolate  themselves, 
to  offer  their  neck  to  the  sword  of  obedience,  whereas 
they  sacrifice  obedience  to  their  self-love  and  duplicity. 
God  grant  that  the  pious  novice  may  hold  such  conduct 
in  due  horror,  and  remember  the  terrible  utterance  of  the 
Holy  Spirit:  ^^The  deceitful  man  the  Lord  will  abhor" 
(Ps.  V.  7). 

There  is  another  vice  closely  resembling  hypocrisy,  and 
that  is  cunning.  My  God,  what  a  terrible  fault!  Some 
unhappy  souls  of  a  low  order  seem  to  possess  an  instinctive 
propensity  for  it.  In  order  to  elude  the  rule  of  obedience, 
the  fulfilment  of  an  order  which  their  Superior  has  given 
or  is  about  to  give  them,  or  to  shirk  the  duties  of  some 
office  which  he  intends  to  entrust  to  them  or  one  from 
which  they  want  to  be  released,  they  will  with  feigned 
humility  allege  their  incapacity  for  it;  the  harm  that  might 
accrue  in  consequence  to  the  cause  of  rehgion  or  to 
the  Community;  they  will  protest  that  they  are  willing 
to  accept  any  other  post,  to  execute  any  other  commission, 
but  as  for  that  which  Is  commanded  them,  they  are  quite 
unsuited  for  it,  it  is  really  beyond  their  powers.  At 
other  times  they  will  pretend  to  be  indisposed,  or  suffering 
pain;  or  again,  they  will  do  what  they  are  told  to  do, 
but  acquit  themselves  of  the  task  badly,  giving  out  that 
their  ill  success  does  not  arise  from  lack  of  a  good  will, 


198  SIMPLICITY  IN  THE  PRACTICE  OF  OBEDIENCE. 

but  of  the  requisite  strength  or  skill.  What  miserable 
subterfuges  are  these!  At  what  a  low  ebb  the  spiritual 
Hfe  must  be,  if  indeed  such  pusillanimity  does  not  pre- 
suppose that  the  spiritual  life  is  altogether  extinct  in 
God's  sight  I 

We  will  stop  here;  it  is  too  painful  to  dwell  on  such  sad, 
such  pitiable  topics.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  novice 
will  hold  in  abhorrence  such  mean  artifices,  that  they  will 
excite  his  indignation  and  he  will  recall  to  mind  the  words 
of  Holy  Scripture:  "Deceitful  souls  go  astray  in  sins*' 
(Prov.  xiii.  13),  and  "  no  good  shall  come  to  the  deceitful 
son"  (ib.  xiv.  15). 

St.  Dositheus,  the  disciple  of  St.  Dorotheiis,  was  of  a 
very  different  stamp.  Open  and  candid,  he  was  a  perfect 
model  of  that  filial,  ingenuous  simple  obedience  which  is 
the  delight  of  Superiors.  We  will  give  an  incident  out  of 
his  life,  the  perusal  of  which  will  serve  to  remove  the  un- 
pleasant impression  made  by  the  details  into  which  we 
have  just  been  entering. 

The  malady  which  proved  fatal  to  him  was  an  affection 
of  the  chest,  with  frequent  hemorrhages  from  the  lungs. 
He  had  always  sanctified  himself  by  obedience,  and  this 
virtue  shone  out  brilliantly  toward  the  close  of  the  brief 
career  of  this  youthful  and  fervent  novice. 

He  had  been  told  that  new-laid  eggs  were  useful  in 
stopping  the  hemorrhages,  and  the  thought  of  this  simple 
remedy,  which  required  no  preparation,  frequently  re- 
curred to  his  mind.  One  day  he  told  his  spiritual  Father, 
St.  Dorotheus,  of  it,  for  he  was  in  the  habit  of  never  con- 
cealing anything  from  him.  *'  Father,"  he  said,  "  I  have 
been  told  of  a  remedy  which  it  was  thought  might  prove 
beneficial  to  me,  and  I  should  like  to  tell  you  of  it;  yet  at 
the  same  time  I  beg  that  you  will  not  prescribe  it  for  me, 
because  the  idea  comes  into  my  mind  too  often,  and  I 
allow  my  thoughts  to  dwell  on  it  too  much."     *'  Tell  me," 


SIMPLICITY  IN  THE  PRACTICE  OF  OBEDIENCE.  199 

St.  Dorotheus  replied;  "  what  the  remedy  is  that  you  speak 
of."  '^It  is  to  take  new-laid  eggs/'  he  answered;  "but 
I  entreat  you  for  God's  sake  not  to  take  notice  of  what  I 
say,  because  I  do  not  want  to  have  anything  I  may  myself 
fancy,  but  only  what  you  may  please  to  give  me  of  your 
own  accord."  "Very  well,"  St.  Dorotheus  rejoined,  "I 
will  do  as  you  wish;  keep  quiet,  and  do  not  trouble  yomr- 
self  about  it."  Everything  else  but  this  one  thing  was 
given  to  the  sick  youth  which  was  thought  likely  to  re- 
store him  to  health,  but  he  only  grew  worse. 

One  day,  on  St.  Barsanuphius  coming  to  see  him,  he 
said  to  him :  "  Father,  tell  me  to  die,  for  I  can  not  hold  out 
any  longer."  "Be  patient,  my  son,"  the  saint  replied, 
"yet  a  little  longer;  the  moment  is  not  far  distant  when 
God  will  have  mercy  upon  you."  St.  Dorotheus,  who 
watched  constantly  beside  him  and  saw  how  terribly  he 
suffered,  began  to  fear  lest  the  devil  should  tempt  him  to 
impatience  and  thus  tarnish  the  glory  of  his  crown.  But 
a  short  time  afterward  Dositheus  again  turned  to  St. 
Barsanuphius,  and  said  in  a  calm  and  gentle  voice: 
"  Father,  I  can  not  live  any  longer."  Then  that  eminent 
saint  answered:  "Now  depart  in  peace,  my  dear  son; 
enter  into  the  presence  of  the  Most  Holy  Trinity,  and 
pray  for  us."  Thereupon,  the  historian  relates,  the  blessed 
child  of  obedience  tranquilly  slept  the  sleep  of  the  just,  as 
if  rocked  to  rest  in  the  bosom  of  that  fair  virtue  which 
had  acted  the  part  of  a  foster-mother  to  him  in  the  relig- 
ious life,  and  had  trained  him  in  sweet  and  solid  piety. 

The  same  writer  adds  that  the  Religious  who  were  pres- 
ent at  the  young  novice's  death  were  astonished  at  St. 
Barsanuphius  speaking  with  such  confidence  to  him  of  his 
salvation.  They  even  began  to  express  aloud  their  sur- 
prise and  disapproval.  What  right,  they  asked,  had  the 
departed  to  receive  so  consoling  an  assurance  at  the  mo- 
ment of  death?    What  had  he  done  to  deserve  it?    What 


200  SIMPLICITY  IN  THE  PRACTICE  OF  OBEDIENCE. 

great  deeds  had  he  accomplished?  They  only  judged  by 
the  extraordinary  austerities  practised  by  some  of  the 
other  monks,  and  could  not  understand  that  Brother 
Dositheus  had  in  a  few  years  attained  a  height  of  perfec- 
tion greater  far  than  the  most  fervent  brethren  could  hope 
to  reach  by  macerating  their  bodies  and  by  practising 
various  mortifications. 

They  failed  to  apprehend  this,  because  they  did  not 
appreciate  the  excellence  of  the  virtue  which  consists  in 
dying  to  one's  own  will.  Before  long  it  pleased  God  to 
show  those  monks  how  unjust  and  mistaken  they  had  been 
in  their  judgment,  and  let  them  know  to  what  a  high 
degree  of  glory  the  fervent  novice  had  been  raised  on  ac- 
count of  the  perfection  wherewith  he  practised  obedience. 
A  short  time  after  his  death,  a  recluse  of  eminent  virtue 
came  to  the  monastery,  and  having  humbly  prayed  God 
to  make  known  to  him  the  merit  and  the  glory  of  the 
Religious  who  had  departed  this  life  in  that  house,  he  was 
privileged  to  behold  them  all  assembled  as  if  in  choir,  and 
amongst  the  aged  monks  he  perceived  a  youthful  novice. 
The  sight  of  this  young  man  aroused  his  wonder;  he 
wished  to  know  why  he  was  there,  and  carefully  observed 
his  features,  his  height,  his  person  generally,  in  order  to 
learn  who  he  was,  and  what  the  reason  could  be  of  the 
extraordinary  honor  shown  him  in  giving  him  a  place 
amongst  the  veteran  recluses. 

From  the  description  he  gave  of  him,  the  Brothers  had 
no  difficulty  in  recognizing  St.  Dositheus.  They  were 
deeply  touched  by  this  revelation  of  the  great  merit  of  the 
pious  novice;  and  from  that  time  forth  they  understood 
better  how  precious  in  God's  sight  is  perfect  obedience  on 
the  part  of  those  who  have  the  happiness  of  being  conse- 
crated to  His  service. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

ON  THE  LOVE  WHICH  THE  NOVICE  OUGHT  TO  HAVE  FOR  THE 
SOLITUDE   OF  THE   NOVITIATE. 

The  novitiate  is  in  truth  a  seclusion,  because  in  it  the 
novice  lives  far  removed  from  the  world,  far  from  its  tur- 
moil, its  business,  its  anxieties,  its  cares,  its  deceptive  joys, 
its  many  sorrows. 

To  love  the  solitude  and  seclusion  of  the  novitiate  is  a 
great  proof  of  a  vocation  to  the  religious  hfe;  while  dis- 
like of  it,  and  weariness  of  it,  if  voluntary,  may  perhaps  be 
considered  as  an  indication  that  the  novice  has  mistaken, 
or  does  not  correspond  to,  the  graces  of  his  vocation. 

There  is  so  much  consolation  to  be  enjoyed  in  this  soli- 
tude. St.  Bernard  says  of  it:  '' O  blessed  solitude!  O 
sole  beatitude!  0  heata  solitudo!  0  sola  heatitudo!  There 
one  breathes  a  purer  air,  there  Heaven  is  more  propitious, 
there  God  is  nearer  to  us!  " 

If  the  religious  life  is  the  paradise  of  this  poor  world  of 
exile,  the  novitiate  is  the  paradise  of  that  paradise. 

Happy  place  of  sojourn!  Not  until  one  has  left  it  does 
one  fully  realize  all  its  blessedness.  It  is  the  abode  of 
peace,  of  light,  of  true  life. 

The  novice  is  like  the  tree  spoken  of  by  the  Psalmist 
which  is  planted  near  the  running  waters,  whose  leaf  shall 
not  fall  off,  and  which  shall  bear  forth  its  fruit  in  due 
season. 

He  is  the  Benjamin  of  the  Religious  family;  on  him  are 

20; 


202  LOVE  OF  NOVICE  FOR  SOLITUDE  OF  NOVITIATE. 

centered  all  the  attention,  all  the  good  wishes  of  the  other 
brethren;  the  prayers,  the  good  examples,  the  wise  counsels, 
the  affection  of  all  are  given  to  him,  because  they  know  to 
how  great  an  extent  the  future  of  the  Order  depends  on  him. 

Oh,  happy  time,  when  the  truth  is  told  us  concerning 
our  virtues,  our  duties,  our  faults,  our  needs! 

Oh,  happy  time,  when  the  will  is  most  pliant,  the  heart 
most  sensitive,  most  open  to  receive  the  guidance,  the 
influence  of  grace! 

It  is  a  holy  and  a  happy  year;  and  the  blessings  enjoyed 
in  it  are  an  earnest,  a  pledge  of  holiness  in  this  life  and  of 
glory  in  the  world  to  come. 

Therefore  we  may  well  say  happy,  a  thousand  times 
happy,  is  the  novice  if  he  does  but  appreciate  his  good  for- 
tune. But  the  happiness  he  enjoys  is  entirely  spiritual, 
consequently  it  does  not  exclude  crosses,  privations,  sac- 
rifice. This  we  have  already  seen  in  the  commencement  of 
the  second  part  of  this  book.  Sacrifice  is  the  natural  con- 
dition of  the  Religious;  he  is  a  victim,  a  burnt-offering, 
and  the  novitiate  is  the  place  of  preparation  wherein  the 
holocaust  is  perfected  which  the  novice  will  offer  on  the  day 
of  his  profession  and  will  renew  daily  for  the  remainder  of 
his  life. 

The  sacrifices  imposed  upon  us  by  the  seclusion  of  the 
novitiate  are  two  in  number:  1.  Separation  from  the 
world  by  severing  all  connection  with  it-  that  is  not  abso- 
lutely indispensable,  and  2.  Cessation  of  all  intercourse 
with  relatives  as  far  as  charity  permits.  We  will  proceed 
to  explain  these  two  points. 

1,  Separation  from  the  World. — The  following  words, 
uttered  by  St.  Paul,  are  indeed  applicable  to  every  Chris- 
tian, but  the  Religious  in  particular  ought  to  adopt  them 
as  his  motto:  Mihi  mundus  criuyifixus  est,  et  ego  mundo. 
"The  world  is  crucified  to  me  and  I  to  the  world" 
(Gal.  vi.   14).     St.  John  Chrysostom,  commenting  upon 


LOVE  OP  NOVICE  FOR  SOLITUDE  OF  NOVITIATE.    203 

them,  says:  "It  was  not  enough  for  the  Apostle  to 
assert  that  the  world  was  dead  to  him,  he  must  needs 
add  that  he  himself  was  dead  to  the  world.  He  doubt- 
less took  into  consideration  the  fact  that  not  only  do 
the  living  entertain  feelings  of  affection  for  one  another, 
but  they  retain  somewhat  the  same  sentiments  for  the 
dead;  they  cherish  their  memory,  and  if  they  do  no 
more,  they  give  honorable  sepulture  to  their  remains. 
Therefore  the  holy  Apostle,  desirous  to  make  us  under- 
stand the  full  extent  to  which  the  faithful  Christian 
ought  to  be  detached  from  the  pleasures  of  time  and 
sense,  adds :  It  is  not  enough  that  all  intercourse  between 
the  world  and  the  Christian  should  be  broken  off,  as  com- 
pletely as  it  is  between  the  living  and  the  dead,  because 
a  certain  connection  is  still  kept  up  between  them;  the 
Christian  should  stand  in  the  same  relation  to  the  world 
as  one  defunct  person  does  to  another." 

The  novice  will  do  well  to  bear  in  mind  this  last  observa- 
tion and  frequently  say  to  himself:  ^'  No  agreement  of  any 
kind  is  possible  between  the  world  and  myself.  I  ought  to 
live  in  respect  to  it  as  one  dead  man  to  another,  nay  more, 
if  possible  not  merely  to  regard  it  with  absolute  indifference, 
but  with  feelings  of  continual  opposition.  The  world  is 
godless  and  I  am  consecrated  to  God.  The  world  follows 
maxims  which  are  suggested  to  it  by  none  other  than  the 
spirit  of  evil,  and  I  have,  I  can  have,  no  other  rule  than 
that  of  Christ  crucified.  The  w^orld  chooses  the  broad  way 
that  leads  to  perdition,  while  my  road  is  the  narrow  way 
that  leads  to  life."  Never  let  the  novice  forget  that  these 
are  the  conditions  imposed  on  him  by  the  divine  vocation. 
Our  Lord  said  to  him  as  He  said  to  the  apostles:  "You  are 
not  of  the  world,  but  I  have  chosen  you  out  of  the  world  " 
(John  XV.  19).  Of  coiu-se  he  loves  unhappy  sinners, 
loves  them  tenderly,  devotedly,  and  prays  for  them;  for 
their  salvation  he  offers  his  penances,  his  sacrifices;  but  he 


204  LOVE  OF  NOVICE  FOR  SOLITUDE  OF  NOVITIATE, 

is  careful  to  hold  aloof  from  them,  not  to  approach  them 
or  be  subject  to  their  influence.  One  great  privilege  of  his 
present  state  is  that  he  lives  apart,  that  he  is  removed 
from  all  intercourse  with  them,  and  hears  nothing  of  their 
affairs  or  their  conversation.  He  must  be  convinced  that 
unless  he  remained  in  this  seclusion,  he  could  never  fully 
and  truly  obtain  the  blessings  attached  to  his  vocation. 

There  are  some  Religious  who  have  never  participated 
to  the  fullest  extent  in  that  celestial  gift  which  is  the  grace, 
the  spirit  peculiar  to  the  religious  vocation.  This  may  be 
the  result  of  various  causes,  but  very  often  it  is  due  to  not 
having  broken  off  sufl[iciently  with  the  world  on  entering 
the  novitiate. 

We  will  therefore  give  the  novice  a  few  words  of  practical 
counsel  on  this  point. 

Connection  with  the  world  may  be  kept  up:  (1)  By 
allowing  one's  thoughts  to  dwell  on  one's  former  inter- 
course with  the  world;  (2)  By  means  of  letters;  (3)  By 
visits  to  the  parlor. 

(1)  First  of  all,  then,  one  of  the  most  important  and 
weighty  obligations  for  the  novice,  if  he  is  desirous  of  pre- 
serving his  interior  peace  and,  above  all,  of  removing  out 
of  his  way  an  obstacle  of  extreme  danger  for  his  salvation, 
is  to  obliterate  from  his  mind  all  remembrance  of  his  life  in 
the  world.  The  past  ought  to  appear  to  him  so  distant, 
so  indistinct,  as  to  leave  no  definite  impression;  and  by 
means  of  prayer,  of  simple  and  serene  watchfulness  over 
himself,  of  diligent  application  to  the  duties  of  his  new 
life,  he  ought  after  a  time  to  regard  his  memories  of  by- 
gone days  as  something  foreign  to  himself;  his  merry, 
thoughtless  childhood,  his  youth,  when  the  heat  of  passion 
first  made  itself  felt;  his  friendships,  his  connections  more 
or  less  intimate;  the  business  in  which  he  perhaps  engaged 
for  a  time;  all  this  ought  to  be  consigned  to  oblivion. 
Possibly  he  may  later  on  be  compelled  by  force  of  circum- 


LOVE  OF  NOVICE  FOR  SOLITUDE  OF  NOVITIATE.    205 

stances  to  renew  some  of  his  former  relations ;  but  there  is  a  > 
period  in  which  all  ought  to  be  purified  as  by  fire  in  order 
to  eliminate  the  dangerous  element  from  the  things  of 
earth,  and  the  novitiate  is  that  period. 

It  may  be  regarded  as  the  interval  which  elapses  between 
a  man's  death  and  his  resurrection.  The  novice  is  in  a 
sepulcher.  Later  on  he  will  perhaps  be  obliged  by  charity 
or  duty  to  occupy  himself  with  worldly  matters,  but  in 
that  case  he  will  do  so  with  the  feelings  of  one  who  has  risen 
from  the  grave. 

(2)  Letters. — It  is  to  be  desired  that  these  should  be  as 
rare  as  possible.  The  novice  is  to  be  congratulated  who 
only  writes  one;  still  more  happy  he  who  never  writes 
any.  On  this  point  the  saints  have  left  us  memorable 
examples,  not  only  the  hermits  whose  lives  we  consider 
so  admirable,  but  those  also  of  more  recent  times.  We 
are  aware  that  it  is  the  fashion  of  the  present  day  to  write 
a  great  many  letters,  and  in  fact  it  has  become  such  a 
universal  custom  as  to  seem  almost  compulsory.  To 
make  one's  self  a  complete  exception  to  the  general  cus- 
tom would  perhaps  not  only  be  ill-judged,  but  might  hurt 
or  offend  persons  in  the  world  who  have  conferred  benefits 
upon  us.  The  Master  of  Novices  must  decide  whether 
some  letters  are  not  advisable  under  certain  circum- 
stances or  at  certain  seasons.  He  will  not  forget  that  to 
return  in  thought  to  the  world  is,  especially  in  the  case 
of  young  novices,  apt  to  give  rise  to  many  distractions 
and  sometimes  dangerous  temptations. 

But,  it  may  be  asked,  is  it  not  useful  to  write  letters 
of  direction?  We  do  not  think  so.  There  is,  however, 
no  rule  without  exception,  and  in  a  given  case  a  novice 
might  be  the  better  for  a  word  from  his  former  confessor, 
or  from  a  priest  whom  he  had  chanced  to  consult,  in  a 
retreat,  for  instance.  Here  again  the  Master  of  Novices 
can  alone  judge  what  is  best.    But  let  the  novice  be  fully 


206  LOVE  OF  NOVICE  FOR  SOLITUDE  OF  NOVITIATE. 

persuaded  that  divine  grace,  which  called  him  to  the  House 
of  God,  prepared  beforehand  all  that  was  needful  and 
useful  for  his  sanctification;  as  a  rule,  the  more  he 
takes  delight  in  soUtude,  the  dearer  will  that  sohtude 
be  to  him;  and  when  he  has  tasted  its  sweetness,  not  only- 
will  all  wish  to  leave  it  vanish,  but  he  will  experience  a 
real  repugnance  for  all  that  is  calculated  to  disturb  its 
profound  peace  and  celestial  tranquilUty. 

(3)  The  Parlor. — On  this  point  we  have  very  little  to 
say  to  the  devout  novice,  who  seldom  has  occasion  to  go 
down  to  the  parlor.  Ordinarily  it  is  his  parents  or  members 
of  his  family  who  ask  for  him,  and  we  purpose  to  speak 
of  intercourse  with  relatives  in  the  next  chapter.  But 
whatever  the  reason  that  compels  him  to  emerge  from  the 
depths  of  his  seclusion,  he  must  not  omit  to  take  pre- 
cautions, simply  but  seriously,  against  the  dangers  that 
infallibly  await  him  in  the  parlor.  Before  going  thither 
let  him  ask  the  blessing  of  Mary,  the  Queen  and  Patroness 
of  the  novitiate,  and  also  that  of  the  Master  of  Novices; 
and  let  him  beg  his  angel  guardian  to  accompany  him. 

If,  on  a  cold  winter's  day,  the  window  of  a  well-warmed 
room  is  opened,  the  hot  air  of  the  interior  quickly  escapes, 
and  the  cold  air  from  without  pours  in,  reducing  by  many 
degrees  the  agreeable  warmth  of  the  temperature.  Now 
this  well-warmed  room  represents  the  seclusion  of  the 
novitiate,  in  the  midst  of  the  icy  cold  of  the  world,  and 
the  window  which,  being  opened,  dispels  the  genial  warmth 
of  the  interior,  is  the  parlor.  The  novice  will  do  well  to 
reflect  upon  this.  Whether  he  belongs  to  a  cloistered  or  a 
non-cloistered  Order,  he  is  equally  a  victim  offered  up  to 
God.  His  place  is  on  the  steps  of  the  altar,  not  at  the 
window  of  the  temple. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

ON  THE  RELATIONS  TO  BE  MAINTAINED   BETWEEN  NOVICES 
AND   THE   MEMBERS   OF  THEIR   FAMILY. 

The  first  sacrifice  which  the  seclusion  of  the  novitiate 
demands  from  the  novice  is  separation  from  the  world; 
the  second  is: 

2.  Cessation  of  all  Intercourse  with  Relatives  as 
FAR  AS  Charity  Permits. — The  subject  on  which  we  now 
have  to  speak  is  a  very  delicate  one.  We  have  no  in- 
tention of  sa3dng  anything  that  is  not  in  keeping  with 
the  spirit  that  animated  the  saints,  yet  we  can  not  avoid 
wounding  the  heart  of  the  young  novice.  Listen,  favored 
chHd  of  God. 

Compromise  is  now  the  order  of  the  day;  everywhere 
one  observes  a  tendency  to  reconcile  the  spirit  of  the 
world  with  the  spirit  of  piety,  to  make  the  religious  Ufe 
consistent  with  some  habits  of  a  secular  life.  The  world 
asks  so  much  from  those  who,  in  virtue  of  their  state, 
are  bound  to  condemn  it,  while  they  on  their  part  per- 
suade themselves  that  it  is  very  extreme  to  keep  to  the 
maxims  and  imitate  the  life  of  the  ancient  monks,  and 
thus,  unhappily,  a  kind  of  mutual  toleration  is  brought 
about,  and  the  vigor  of  ancient  discipline  is  apparently  re- 
laxed. 

In  regard  to  the  relations  to  be  maintained  between 
persons  consecrated  to  God  and  the  members  of  their 
family,  the  view  taken  and  the  conduct  pursued  by  many 

207 


208  RELATIONS  BETWEEN  NOVICE  AND  FAMILY. 

Religious  in  our  own  day  differ  from  the  examples  we  find 
in  the  annals  of  hagiology  and  the  rules  left  to  us  by  the 
founders  of  Orders.  But  the  practice  that  has  obtained 
is  so  widespread  that  one  is  inclined  to  regard  as  exaggerated 
what  some  of  the  most  esteemed  authors  have  written 
on  the  subject,  to  wit,  Rodriguez,  in  his  treatise  on  Christian 
perfection,  and  St.  Teresa  in  her  various  works.  Yet  we 
will  quote  these  writers,  and  do  so  with  confidence,  with 
the  conviction  that  their  words  will  not  be  useless  to 
Religious,  who  require  to  be  reminded  of  the  weighty 
instructions  of  those  who  have  the  right  to  speak  authori- 
tatively. Besides,  the  spirit  of  the  religious  life  is  the 
same  now  as  it  was  then,  and  certainly  it  is  not  for  the 
world,  with  its  spirit,  its  assumption  of  a  right  to  meddle 
in  holy  things,  to  claim  the  prerogative  of  modifying, 
rules  that  have  been  respected  for  ages,  and  approved 
by  the  greatest  saints. 

It  is  our  wish  from  the  outset  to  banish  everything  that 
could  have  the  appearance  of  being  exaggerated,  still 
more  erroneous.  One  thing  is  certain,  and  that  is  that 
the  love  Religious,  and  novices  in  particular,  owe  to  their 
parents  can  undergo  no  change;  no,  it  is  unchangeable; 
and  the  respect,  the  gratitude  due  to  them  must  never  suffer 
any  diminution.  This  affection  and  this  gratitude  are 
founded  on  the  law  of  God,  and  that  law  is  immutable; 
however,  the  acts  whereby  they  are  manifested  are  different 
in  a  Religious  to  what  they  are  in  one  who  lives  in  the 
world.  We  say  they  are  different,  and  we  add,  without 
fear  of  contradiction,  that  the  difference  does  the  Religious 
credit,  and  is  to  the  advantage  of  his  parents. 

Real  affection  does,  in  fact,  lead  us  to  desire  and  seek  to 
obtain  the  best  gifts  for  those  who  are  dear  to  us.  Now 
the  best  gifts  are  the  gifts  of  grace.  What  will  the  Relig- 
ious do  to  testify  his  affection  and  pay  his  debt  of  gratitude 
toward  the  authors  of  his  being?    He  will  pray  frequently 


RELATIONS  BETWEEN  NOVICE  AND  FAMILY.  209 

for  them,  pray  fervently,  insistently;  he  will  ask  for  his 
father,  for  his  mother,  for  his  other  relatives  grace  to  meet 
the  trials  of  life  with  resignation;  its  prosperity,  its  few 
delights  with  humility.  He  will  constantly  beseech  the 
God  of  mercy  to  afford  them  the  means  of  expiating  their 
sins,  of  continuing  in  His  holy  friendship,  of  increasing  in 
it  as  they  pass  through  the  vicissitudes  of  this  present  life. 
And  if  he  hears  that  their  end  is  approaching,  he  will  assist 
them  with  renewed  supplications,  and  to  his  own  petitions 
those  of  the  Community  will  be  added.  And  when  it  pleases 
God  to  take  them  out  of  this  exile,  these  same  prayers, 
fervent,  heartfelt,  persevering,  will  be  offered  for  their  reUef 
from  the  purgatorial  fires.  Indeed  love,  gratitude,  fond 
attachment  can  never,  never  grow  cold  in  the  heart  where 
divine  charity  dwells.  Our  own  daily  experience  warrants 
us  in  asserting,  on  the  contrary,  that  behind  the  monastery 
grille,  beneath  the  religious  habit,  the  most  tender,  most 
affectionate  hearts  are  to  be  found.  And  why  is  this? 
Because  these  hearts  are  not  scorched  by  the  blast  of 
egoism  which  prevails  throughout  the  world,  nor  hard- 
ened by  the  considerations  of  material  interest  which  un- 
happily wither  and  destroy  the  natural  affection  of  many 
sons  and  daughters  in  the  world.  Moreover,  on  whose 
hearts  is  the  remembrance  of  loved  ones  departed  most 
deeply,  most  lastingly  impressed?  Ordinary  justice  com- 
pels us  to  answer  on  the  hearts  of  those  who,  having  learned 
the  true  value  of  time  and  of  eternity,  on  that  account  feel 
it  to  be  their  duty  never  to  forget  those  who  are  no  more, 
and  who,  even  after  the  lapse  of  years,  may  still  stand  in 
need  of  our  suffrages. 

Yes,  of  that  the  world,  often  unjust  in  its  complaints, 
may  rest  assured.  The  devout  novice  will  never  allow 
the  steady,  permanent  flame  of  affection,  filial,  fraternal 
affection,  to  die  out  of  his  heart;  but  he  will  not  allow  it 
to  agitate  or  unsettle  him,  to  make  him  long  for  external 


210  RELATIONS  BETWEEN  NOVICE  AND  FAMILY. 

intercourse  unbejBtting  his  state;  he  will  not  inquire  too 
anxiously  about  matters  which  may  engage  the  attention 
of  his  relatives  in  the  world,  their  joys  or  sorrows;  he  will 
not  want  to  hear  from  them  or  write  to  them  very  often, 
to  send  messages,  to  hear  about  business  affairs,  to  get 
them  to  come  to  the  monastery,  or  to  be  allowed  to  visit 
them  himself.  In  short,  apart  from  the  communication 
which  obedience  and  strict  duty  compel  him  to  keep  up 
with  his  relatives,  the  fervent  novice  ought  to  model  his 
conduct  in  accordance  with  St.  Paul's  words:  ''  They  are 
crucified  to  me  and  I  to  them." 

If  the  reader  desires  grave  and  solid  instruction  on  this 
point,  let  him  read,  we  will  not  say  the  counsels  of  the 
Fathers  of  the  desert,  since  it  may  be  urged  that,  as  they 
were  pledged  to  a  Ufe  of  absolute  solitude,  a  different  rule 
must  apply,  but  Fr.  Rodriguez,  whose  wisdom  and  modera- 
tion is  universally  admired.  Now  his  treatise  on  Christian 
and  Religious  perfection  was  written  for  the  Fathers  of  the 
Society  of  Jesus,  whose  vocation  is  not  to  lead  a  hermit's 
life,  but  one  of  active  apostolic  work.  In  the  fifth  division 
of  the  second  part  the  salutary  doctrine  of  the  saints  and 
their  examples  will  be  found.  The  titles  alone  of  the  differ- 
ent chapters  will  give  an  idea  of  their  substance;  e.g.,  Ch. 
1.  How  important  it  is  for  the  novice  not  to  visit  and 
stay  with  his  relatives.  Ch.  2.  A  Religious  ought  to  ab- 
stain from  revisiting  his  native  place,  even  for  the  purpose 
of  preaching;  and  so  on.  Chapters  4,  5,  6,  7. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  illustrious  Jesuit  is  somewhat 
severe.  We  quote  the  conclusion  he  comes  to  about  the 
middle  of  the  last  chapter:  "  Whoever,  therefore,  desires 
to  attain  the  end  which  he  ought  to  have  proposed  to  him- 
self, on  going  into  religion,  must  give  up  all  intercourse 
with  his  near  relatives,  and  not  take  the  least  part  in  the 
care  or  management  of  their  temporal  concerns.  For 
*  who  hath  said  to  his  father  and  to  his  mother :  I  do  not 


RELATIONS  BETWEEN  NOVICE  AND  FAMILY.  211 

know  you;  and  to  his  brethren:  I  know  you  not;  and 
their  own  children  they  have  not  known.  These  have 
kept  Thy  word  and  observed  Thy  covenant*"  (Deut.  xxxiii 
9).    Could  there  be  more  forcible  language  than  this? 

And  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  author  is  writing 
for  Religious  who  have  finished  their  novitiate,  and  who 
consequently  would  seem  to  be  less  exposed  to  receive 
any  prejudicial  effect  from  intercourse  with  their  parents; 
what  would  he  not  have  said,  how  much  more  strongly 
still  would  he  not  have  spoken  if  he  had  only  addressed 
novices.  For  heaven's  sake  let  us  not  neglect  the  counsels, 
the  admonitions,  the  experience  of  the  saints. 

From  Rodriguez  we  will  turn  to  St.  Teresa,  the  weight  of 
whose  dictum  no  one  will  question.  The  illustrious  Re- 
former of  Carmel  is  common  sense  personified;  indeed  I 
acknowledge  that  I  scarcely  know  whether  in  her  writings 
I  am  not  struck  by  her  marvelous  good  sense,  the  perfect 
accuracy  of  her  views  even  more  than  by  the  wondrous 
graces  bestowed  on  her  by  the  divine  Spouse.  At  any 
rate  we  may  learn  much  that  is  of  practical  use  to  us  in 
the  religious  life  from  her  good  sense  and  uncommon  wis- 
dom. Let  us  listen  to  her  pronouncements  with  due 
attention. 

"  If  we  who  are  Religious  knew  how  much  harm  we 
derive  from  long  conversations  with  our  relatives,  how 
resolutely  we  would  avoid  them.  I  confess  that  I  do  not 
see,  looking  at  it  merely  from  a  human  point  of  view,  what 
consolation  or  solace  we  gain  from  them,  since,  as  it  is 
neither  possible  nor  permissible  for  us  to  participate  in 
their  pleasures,  we  can  only  share  in  their  vexations,  and 
perhaps  shed  more  tears  over  their  troubles  than  they  do 
themselves.  Therefore  I  can  confidently  tell  those  Relig- 
ious that  if  in  this  way  they  find  any  satisfaction  for  their 
senses,  their  souls  will  suffer  for  it. 

*'  I  can  not  think  without  astonishment  of  the  harm  done 


212  RELATIONS  BETWEEN  NOVICE  AND  FAMILY. 

by  talking  to  one's  relatives.  It  is  so  great  that  I  doubt 
whether  those  who  have  not  experienced  it  can  believe 
what  it  is;  and  I  am  no  less  surprised  that  the  perfection 
of  our  state,  which  obliges  us  to  hold  aloof  from  them, 
should  be  at  so  low  an  ebb  in  the  greater  part  of  our  relig- 
ious Houses  that  scarcely  any  trace  of  it  remains.  I  do 
not  know  what  we  leave  when  we  leave  the  world,  we  who 
profess  to  have  left  all  for  God,  if  we  do  not  leave  the  prin- 
cipal thing,  that  is  our  relatives. 

^'Matters  in  this  respect  have  gone  so  far  that  it  is  now 
alleged  against  Religious  that  they  are  wanting  in  virtue 
if  they  are  not  tenderly  attached  to  their  relatives;  nay, 
more,  an  attempt  is  even  made  to  prove  by  arguments 
that  it  is  wrong  not  to  see  and  talk  with  them  frequently. 
But,  my  daughters,  what  it  behooves  us  in  this  House 
to  do,  after  having  acquitted  ourselves  of  the  duties  I 
spoke  of,  which  the  Church  requires  of  us,  is  to  commend 
our  relatives  very  earnestly  to  God,  and  then  banish  as 
far  as  possible  from  our  minds  all  that  concerns  them." 

St.  Francis  of  Sales  was  no  less  aware  of  tlie  dangers 
of  too  great  attachment  to  one^s  relatives.  He  writes 
to  one  of  his  nieces  (we  have  not  been  able  to  discover 
whether  she  was  a  Religious;  but  if  she  was  not,  the 
holy  bishop's  admonition  is  all  the  more  striking):  "Now, 
then,  my  dear  niece  and  daughter,  you  are  with  your 
father,  whom  you  look  upon  as  the  earthly  representative 
of  the  Eternal  Father;  for  it  is  in  this  character  our  respect 
and  our  service  are  due  to  those  whom  He  made  instru- 
mental in  giving  us  birth.  Hold  your  soul  well  in  hand, 
lest  it  slip  from  your  grasp  either  to  the  right  or  to  the 
left;  I  mean  to  say,  lest  it  should  get  weakened  by  the 
affection  of  those  around  you,  or  saddened  by  contact 
with  the  passions  and  varying  moods  of  those  with  whom 
you  have  to  live." 

Here  we  see  what  were  the  sentiments,  what  was  the 


RELATIONS  BETWEEN  NOVICE  AND  FAMILY.  213 

teaching  of  the  saints.  We  might  multiply  quotations, 
but  these  are  enough.  It  must  be  acknowledged  that 
the  lessons  these  great  masters  give  us  are  agonizing  to 
nature.  Yes,  more  than  once  at  the  thought  of  a  father, 
a  mother;  at  the  remembrance  of  some  visit  cut  short 
by  the  obligations  of  obedience;  of  a  slight,  real  or  imagi- 
nary, which  we  think  has  been  shown  to  those  whom 
we  love  dearly  and  to  whom  we  owe  so  much;  on  these 
and  other  occasions  the  poor  novice's  heart  will  bleed, 
his  eyes  will  fill  with  tears;  he  will  teU  himself  that  in 
such  conduct  there  is  an  element  of  harshness,  of  cruelty 
incompatible  with  the  gentle,  loving  spirit  of  the  Gospel. 
We  do  not  deny  that  herein  lies  one  of  the  most  subtle 
temptations  for  the  young  Religious,  because  apparently 
on  such  occasions  a  duty  which  he  ought  to  perform  is 
sacrificed,  and  perfectly  legitimate  feelings  are  immolated. 

Sacrificed  and  immolated!  This  may  sound  hard,  yet 
remember,  you  who  are  God's  own  child,  that  it  is  in  this 
that  the  chief  obligation  of  your  sacred  vocation  consists. 
You  are  a  victim,  or  in  the  way  of  becoming  one,  therefore 
your  life  is  a  continual  sacrifice  and  your  spirit  of  surrender 
is  not  to  be  exercised  only  in  regard  to  that  which  is  evil, 
which  is  forbidden,  and  which  consequently  it  is  absolutely 
obligatory  upon  you  to  sacrifice,  but  also  in  regard  to 
what  is  lawful,  as  is  the  possession  of  this  world's  goods 
which  you  offer  as  a  holocaust  to  Our  Lord  by  your  vow 
of  poverty.  The  natural  affection  we  have  for  our  parents 
and  they  for  us  is  also  one  of  these  legitimate  possessions, 
and  it  is  because,  although  we  might  enjoy  it  by  remain- 
ing in  the  world,  we  yet  freely  make  the  sacrifice  of  it  to 
God,  that  He,  the  divine  Lord  and  Master  of  our  hearts, 
accepts  our  oblation  and  our  holocaust  with  greater 
satisfaction. 

It  will  doubtless  be  said  (and  this  is  perhaps  the  most 
specious   argument  of  poor  human  nature  driven  to  an 


214  RELATIONS  BETWEEN  NOVICE  AND  FAMILY. 

extremity):  It  is  not  so  much  the  sacrifice  that  I  make 
myself  as  that  which  I  impose  on  others  which  gives  me 
pain.  For  myself,  I  am  ready  to  bear  anything;  but 
how  can  I  think  unmoved  of  my  father,  my  poor  mother, 
who  have  not  perhaps  the  same  grace  to  support  them 
as  I  have,  who  are  unprepared  to  bear  these  privations 
and  possibly  do  not  merit  by  them  to  any  great  extent, 
but  who  suffer  acutely  on  account  of  them,  since  their 
tenderest,  most  cherished  affections  are  wounded.  That 
is  what  troubles  me  most  of  all;  that  is  the  hardest  sacrifice 
I  have  to  make. 

There  is  certainly  some  truth  in  what  you  say,  and  you 
are  right  in  making  this  observation;  but  have  more  con- 
fidence in  Providence,  abandon  yourself  wholly  to  Him. 
Who  knows  but  on  the  very  day  when  you  do  not  look 
after  your  parents  as  much,  God  in  His  goodness  will 
look  after  them  more,  and  this  will  be  to  the  advantage 
of  all  concerned;  your  mind  will  be  more  at  rest,  your 
parents  will  have  more  grace  bestowed  on  them,  almighty 
God  will  be  more  glorified?  Endeavor  to  commit  yourself 
and  those  who  are  dear  to  you  into  the  hands  of  that 
loving  and  tender  Father,  and  you  will  see  how  great  is 
His  goodness. 

We  will  conclude  this  chapter  by  a  quotation  from  St. 
Bernard,  in  which  he  asserts  both  the  obligation  binding 
upon  us  to  keep  aloof  from  all  unruly  affection  for  flesh 
and  blood,  and  the  excellence  of  the  vocation  which  God 
in  His  bounty  has  conferred  on  us: 

"The  true  Religious  ought  to  be  another  Melchisedech, 
of  whom  the  apostle  says  that  he  was  without  father, 
without  mother,  without  genealogy.  It  is  not  meant 
that  he  was  actually  without  these,  for  he  was  a  man 
like  ourselves;  these  words  are  intended  to  show  us  that 
since  Holy  Scripture,  when  speaking  of  him,  only  regards 
him  in  his  character  of  priest,  it  does  not  mention  his 


RELATIONS  BETWEEN  NOVICE  AND  FAMILY.  215 

genealogy,  nor  even  the  beginning  of  his  days  or  the  end 
of  his  Ufe,  in  order  to  teach  us  that  the  priests  of  God, 
and  Religious  above  all,  ought  to  be  as  completely  de- 
tached from  the  ties  of  flesh  and  blood,  and  as  entirely 
devoted  to  spiritual  things,  as  if  they  had  come  down 
direct  from  heaven.  Finally  that  they  ought  to  be  counter- 
parts of  Melchisedech  in  heart,  that  is  to  say,  entirely 
stripped  of  everything  that  can  in  the  least  possible  degree 
hinder  their  progress  toward  God. 

'^  Wherefore  remain  in  your  solitude  like  a  turtle-dove; 
let  there  be  no  connection  between  you  and  the  world, 
no  intercourse  between  you  and  your  fellow-men:  'Forget 
thy  people  and  thy  father's  house,  and  the  King  shall 
greatly  desire  thy  beauty/  '^ 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

AN  EXHORTATION  DELIVERED  BY  A  SUPERIOR  TO  A  NOVICE. 

We  are  now  going  to  assist  at  the  reception  of  a  novice, 
and  listen  to  the  sermon  delivered  on  the  occasion  of  that 
solemn  ceremony,  which  took  place  in  an  Egyptian  monas- 
tery toward  the  close  of  the  fifth  century.  The  Superior 
of  the  monastery  was  the  celebrated  St.  Pynuphius, 
whose  humility  is  so  highly  extolled  in  the  lives  of  the 
Fathers  of  the  desert. 

A  postulant  has,  after  the  usual  preliminary  trials,  been 
judged  worthy  of  admission  to  the  brotherhood,  the  time 
of  his  formal  reception  has  arrived,  and  the  abbot  is  about 
to  address  an  exhortation  to  him.  Listen  to  his  words 
with  great  attention,  for  we  know  of  nothing  in  the  annals 
of  ancient  monasticism  more  admirable  than  these  counsels 
of  perfection.  Nor  can  we  doubt  their  authenticity,  since 
they  were  recorded  by  an  eye-witness  of  the  ceremony, 
Cassian,  who  while  on  a  round  of  visits  to  the  various 
monastic  institutions  in  Egypt  happened  to  arrive  at  the 
monastery  governed  by  his  friend,  the  Abbot  Pynuphius, 
at  the  moment  of  the  ceremony  in  question,  and  heard  him 
speak  as  follows: 

"To-day,  my  son,  you  are  admitted  into  our  monastery; 
but  you  know  how  many  days  you  lay  prostrate  at  the 
door  before  it  was  opened  to  give  you  ingress.  It  behooves 
us  now  to  make  you  understand  why  we  showed  that 
apparent  reluctance,  in  order  that  you  may  walk  faithfully 

216 


EXHORTATION  BY  A  SUPERIOR  TO  A  NOVICE.  217 

in  the  way  on  which  you  desire  to  enter  the  service  of 
Jesus  Christ. 

*'As  God  promises  infinite  and  endless  glory  to  those 
who  are  faithful  to  Him  and  follow  Him  closely,  according 
to  the  Rule  of  this  House,  so  He  also  threatens  to  visit 
with  awful  chastisements  those  who  acquit  themselves  of 
the  duties  of  this  holy  life  slothfully,  remissly,  and  whose 
actions  do  not  correspond  to  the  sanctity  of  their  profession 
and  the  high  esteem  in  which  their  state  is  held.  Scripture, 
moreover,  teaches  us  that  it  is  better  not  to  take  vows 
than  to  fail  in  keeping  them  when  taken;  and  it  also  pro- 
nounces maledictions  upon  those  who  do  the  work  of  the 
Lord  deceitfully. 

"This  then,  my  son,  is  the  reason  why  at  the  outset  we 
have  for  so  long  a  time  refused  to  listen  to  your  request, 
not  indeed  because  we  were  not  most  willing  to  afford  you, 
and  every  one  else,  all  the  spiritual  assistance  in  our  power; 
nor  because  we  would  not  gladly  go  far  to  meet  those  who 
are  desirous  to  be  converted  to  God;  no,  it  was  for  fear 
lest  if  we  admitted  you  too  hastily  we  might  ourselves 
incur  the  guilt  of  having  acted  rashly  in  God*s  sight,  if 
perchance,  having  been  received  without  full  knowledge  of 
the  importance  of  the  step  you  were  taking,  you  were  to 
relax  your  efforts,  or  even  to  lose  your  vocation  by  the 
fatal  desertion  of  the  state  you  had  embraced. 

"In  order  to  form  a  correct  idea  of  the  religious  state, 
understand  first  of  all  that  it  is  a  complete  renunciation 
of  the  world.  The  man  who  enters  refigion  announces 
publicly  that  he  is  crucified,  that  he  is  dead.  Consider 
yourself  therefore  to-day  as  actually  dead  to  the  world,  to 
its  works,  to  its  aspirations;  that,  as  St.  Paul  says,  you 
are  crucified  to  the  world  and  the  world  to  you. 

"Scrutinize  carefully  the  cross  which  will  henceforth 
be  your  portion,  since  it  is  no  longer  you  who  hve,  but 
Christ  crucified  who  lives  in  you. 


218  EXHORTATION  BY  A  SUPERIOR  TO  A  NOVICE. 

"You  ought,  in  fact,  throughout  the  course  of  your  Hfc. 
to  reproduce  the  state  of  Jesus  Christ  when  He  was  fastened 
to  the  cross,  in  order  that,  according  to  the  expression 
employed  by  the  prophet,  your  flesh  being  pierced  with 
the  fear  of  the  Lord  as  by  nails,  your  will  and  your  desires 
will  remain  fixed  to  the  cross,  subjugated  to  the  law  of 
mortification,  not  to  the  law  of  concupiscence.  In  this 
manner  you  will  comply  with  the  admonition  Our  Lord 
gives  you  when  He  says :  ^  He  that  taketh  not  up  his  cross 
and  followeth  Me  is  not  worthy  of  Me.* 

"  But  how,  you  will  ask  me,  can  a  man  be  at  one  and  the 
selfsame  time  living  and  yet  crucified?  Our  cross  is  the 
fear  of  the  Lord;  and  as  one  who  is  crucified  is  no  longer 
at  liberty  to  move  his  limbs  as  he  chooses,  so  we  must  no 
longer  regulate  our  will,  our  wishes  according  to  om*  own 
pleasure,  but  according  to  the  law  of  the  Lord.  And  as 
he  who  is  fastened  to  the  cross  thinks  no  more  of  gratifying 
his  passions,  has  no  more  anxiety  for  the  morrow,  has  no 
longer  any  desire  to  amass  riches,  or  any  feelings  of  pride, 
of  anger,  of  resentment  for  wrongs  done  to  him  either  in 
the  present  or  the  past;  as  he  considers  himself  as  dead  to 
all  cFeated  things  though  he  has  not  ceased  to  exist,  and 
in  spirit  he  is  already  there  whither  he  is  tending,  i.e., 
heaven;  so  in  like  manner,  it  is  indispensable  that  we, 
being  nailed  to  the  cross  by  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  should  be 
dead  not  only  to  vice,  but  also  to  a  certain  extent  to  the 
whole  world,  and  that  our  interior  vision,  the  eye  of  our 
soul,  should  be  fixed  upon  the  goal  where  we  are  bound  to 
believe  that  we  may  be  summoned  any  moment  to  appear. 

"Take  good  heed  therefore  never  again  to  pursue  after 
what  you  have  abandoned,  and  go  back,  in  direct  opposition 
to  Our  Lord's  command,  from  the  field  of  evangelical 
labor  in  which  you  are  at  work  to  take  the  coat  which  you 
laid  aside.  Do  not  come  down,  neglecting  His  prohibition, 
from  the  housetop  of  perfection  to  take  anything  apper- 


EXHORTATION  BY  A  SUPERIOR   TO  A  NOVICE.  219 

taining  to  life  in  the  world  which  you  have  renounced,  by 
reviving  the  low  and  earthly  affections  of  your  earlier  days. 
Forget  your  relatives  and  your  old  attachments,  for  fear 
lest,  if  you  are  entangled  anew  in  the  perplexities  and 
business  of  the  world,  it  be  said  of  you  that,  after  putting 
your  hand  to  the  plough,  you  have  looked  back  and  are 
not  fit  for  the  kingdom  of  God. 

"To-day,  while  the  fervor  of  your  conversion  is  yet  fresh, 
you  prove  by  your  sincere  humUity  that  you  tread  under 
foot  the  pride  of  the  world;  see  that  you  do  not  readmit 
that  pride  into  your  soul  by  a  vain  elation  of  heart  when 
you  begin  to  delight  in  chanting  the  psalms  and  to  appre- 
ciate the  happiness  of  your  profession;  lest  by  building  up 
again  that  which  you  demolished  you  render  yourself  guilty 
of  prevarication.  Nay,  rather  hold  fast  the  poverty  which 
you  are  now  about  to  embrace,  and  which  you  promise 
before  God  and  His  angels  to  observe,  and  see  that  you 
persevere  in  it  unto  the  end. 

"You  must  not  even  be  satisfied  to  maintain  the  spirit 
of  humility  and  patience  of  which  you  have  given  us 
proof  during  the  ten  days  which  you  passed  at  the  gate 
of  the  monastery,  entreating  with  tears  to  be  admitted; 
you  must  make  progress  in  this  virtue  and  cause  it  to  grow 
within  you;  for. would  it  not  be  a  grievous  misfortune  if, 
instead  of  making  fresh  progress  and  striving  after  per. 
fection,  you  were  to  relax  your  efforts  and  thereby  fall 
below  your  present  stage  of  attainment  ?  Of  a  truth  it  is 
not  he  who  begins  to  lead  a  holy  life  who  shall  be  saved, 
but  he  who  shall  persevere  unto  the  end. 

"That  is  why  I  urge  this  upon  you  so  emphatically: 
After  having  entered  upon,  pledged  yourself  to  the  service 
of  God,  be  steadfast  in  the  way  of  the  Lord,  as  Holy  Scrip- 
ture says.  Moreover,  you  must  prepare  yourself  not  to 
enjoy  repose,  not  to  experience  a  false  security  and  the 
delights  of  life,  but  rather  to  encounter  trials  and  suffer- 


220  EXHORTATION  BY  A  SUPERIOR  TO  A  NOVICE 

ings;  for  only  those  who  have  come  out  of  great  tribula- 
tion can  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God.  Narrow  is  the 
gate  and  strait  is  the  way  that  leads  thereto,  and  few  there 
are  that  find  it.  Learn  from  this  that  having  been  chosen 
to  be  one  of  that  small  nimiber,  you  ought  not  to  allow 
yourself  to  be  led  away  by  the  example  of  the  great  num- 
ber, and  yield  to  tepidity  and  sloth;  you  ought,  on  the 
contrary,  to  imitate  those  who  form  the  small  number,  in 
order  that  you  may  merit  to  enter  with  them  into  the 
kingdom  of  God.  You  know  that  many  are  called  but 
few  are  chosen,  and  that  the  flock  to  whom  our  heavenly 
Father  gives  the  inheritance  of  His  celestial  kingdom  is 
but  a  small  one.  Therefore  do  not  underrate  the  magni- 
tude of  the  fault  committed  by  a  Religious  who,  after 
having  embraced  a  state  which  aims  at  the  attainment  of 
perfection,  instead  of  exerting  himself  to  acquire  it,  allows 
himself  to  sink  into  a  way  of  life  which  is  most  imperfect. 
Now  these  are  the  steps  whereby  the  perfection  after 
which  you  are  bound  to  strive  may  be  reached. 

''  I  have  already  told  you  that  the  fear  of  the  Lord  is 
the  commencement  and  the  mainstay  of  our  salvation.  It 
is  the  means  whereby  those  who  enter  upon  the  life  of  per- 
fection are  converted  to  God,  cleanse  themselves  from 
their  vices,  and  keep  up  the  practice  of  the  virtues  they 
have  acquired.  This  salutary  fear,  when  it  pervades  the 
soul,  inspires  her  with  a  general  contempt  for  all  things, 
it  causes  her  to  forget  her  relatives  and  to  regard  the 
world  with  holy  detestation.  This  contempt,  this  divest- 
ing one's  self  of  everything,  are  conducive  to  humility; 
and  these  are  the  signs  by  which  one  perceives  that  a  Re- 
ligious possesses  this  true  and  sincere  humility:  1.  If  he 
always  mortifies  his  own  will;  2.  If  he  does  not  fail  to 
acquaint  his  Superior  not  only  with  his  actions  but  also 
with  his  thoughts;  3.  If,  far  from  confiding  in  his  own 
judgment,  he  submits  implicitly  to  the  decisions  of  his 


EXHORTATION  BY  A  SUPERIOR  TO  A  NOVICE.  221 

Superior,  and  receives  his  counsels  with  alacrity  and  joy; 
4.  If  he  is  scrupulous  in  practising  obedience,  is  gentle  and 
always  patient;  5.  If  he  not  only  is  careful  not  to  hurt 
any  one's  feelings,  but  does  not  trouble  himself  about  the 
wrong  others  do  to  him;  6.  If  he  never  ventures  to  do 
anjrthing  which  is  not  permitted  by  the  Rule  and  con- 
formable to  the  example  of  the  monks  of  old;  7.  If  he 
does  not  think  anything  below  him,  and  looks  upon  him- 
self as  an  unworthy,  unprofitable  servant,  even  when  he 
has  done  all  that  he  was  commanded  to  do;  8.  If  he  con- 
siders himself  as  the  last  and  meanest  of  all,  and  allows 
that  he  deserves  the  lowest  place,  not  only  with  his  lips 
but  with  all  sincerity  of  heart;  9.  If  he  keeps  his  tongue  in 
check,  and  does  not  raise  his  voice;  10.  If  he  does  not 
indulge  in  laughter  which  savors  of  levity;  by  these,  or 
other  similar  signs  one  can  judge  of  the  humility  of  the 
Religious. 

''  And  if  he  is  really,  truly  humble,  his  humility  will 
produce  in  him  that  divine  charity  which  casteth  out  fear 
and  which  will  enable  him  to  perform  easily,  almost  natu- 
rally, acts  that  formerly  were  accomplished  with  effort  and 
pain,  out  of  fear  of  everlasting  punishment ;  whereas,  when 
actuated  by  this  charity,  he  does  them  by  choice  and  for 
the  pleasure  he  experiences  in  what  is  good. 

^'  In  order  to  acquire  the  virtues  which  I  have  pointed 
out  to  you  and  to  persevere  in  the  practice  of  them,  with- 
out growing  weary  of  the  struggle  involved  in  this  self- 
discipline,  be  careful  to  observe  three  things  which  are 
mentioned  in  these  words  of  the  Royal  Psalmist :  '  But  I 
as  a  deaf  man  heard  not,  and  as  a  dumb  man  not  opening 
his  mouth.  I  became  as  a  man  that  heareth  not  and  that 
hath  no  reproofs  in  his  mouth.' 

"  Thus  it  is  needful  for  you  to  conduct  yourself  in  the 
monastery  as  if  you  were  deaf,  dumb,  and  blind;  you 
must  not  turn  your  eyes  upon  others,  except  the  one  whom 


222  EXHORTATION  BY  A  SUPERIOR   TO  A   NOVICE. 

you  have  taken  as  your  model,  and  you  must  shut  your 
eyes  to  everything  which  is  less  perfect  or  not  very  edify- 
ing, for  fear  lest  the  position  of  those  who  are  less  strict 
and  the  respect  you  owe  them  might  lead  you  little  by 
little  to  relax  your  austerity  and  allow  yourself  to  do  things 
that  you  formerly  condemned. 

''  If,  therefore,  you  see  one  of  your  fellow-Religious  who 
fails  in  obedience,  who  is  intractable  or  speaks  evil  of  the 
others,  or  does  anything  different  to  what  the  Rule  or- 
dains, do  not  be  scandalized  and  do  not  be  seduced  to  fol- 
low his  example;  be  like  a  deaf  man  in  regard  to  such 
matters;  let  them  pass  unnoticed,  just  as  if  you  had  not 
heard  or  seen  them. 

"  If  one  person  abuses  you  and  another  insults  you,  re- 
main unmoved;  do  not  let  it  disturb  your  equanimity,  but 
listen  to  what  is  said  like  a  dumb  man  who  has  not  the 
power  to  reply.  Bear  in  mind  David's  words :  '  I  said,  I 
will  take  heed  unto  my  ways  that  I  sin  not  with  my  tongue.' 

''  There'  is  something  more  which  I  must  impress  upon 
you  yet  more  emphatically,  which  you  must  regard  as  the 
culminating  point  of  the  virtues  I  have  proposed  for  you 
to  practice. 

*'  Become  a  fool  in  this  world  that  you  may  be  wise,  as 
St.  Paul  declares  that  he  did.  Do  not  scrutinize,  do  not 
ask  yourself  the  why  and  wherefore  of  the  orders  given 
you.  Obey  simply  with  a  lively  faith.  Do  not  think 
anything  good,  useful,  or  wise  except  what  is  commanded 
you  by  the  law  of  God  or  the  will  of  your  Superior.  Act 
thus  and  you  will  persevere  in  the  discipline  of  this  monas- 
tery, resisting  all  temptations  to  leave  it  which  the  enemy 
may  suggest. 

"Furthermore,  do  not  let  your  patience  depend  on  the 
virtue  of  others;  I  mean  you  should  not  content  yourself 
with  being  patient  when  no  one  annoys  you,  for  that 
does  not  depend  upon  yourself;   but  what  is  more  within 


EXHORTATION  BY  A  SUPERIOR   TO  A  NOVICE.  223 

your  power,  is  to  let  your  patience  be  the  result  of  your 
humility  and  forbearance. 

"Finally,  to  epitomize  what  I  have  been  saying  and 
to  enable  you  to  impress  it  upon  your  mind,  let  me  indi- 
cate in  a  few  words  the  steps  whereby  you  can,  without 
difficulty,  reach  the  height  of  perfection.  The  fear  of  the 
Lord  is,  as  Holy  Scripture  tells  us,  the  beginning  of  our 
salvation,  the  beginning  of  our  wisdom;  this  fear  is  pro- 
ductive of  salutary  compunction.  This  compunction 
gives  birth  to  renunciation,  that  is  to  say,  it  leads  one 
to  contemn  and  strip  one's  self  of  this  world's  goods. 
This  voluntary  destitution  makes  us  humble,  and  humility 
teaches  us  to  mortify  our  own  desires.  Mortification  has 
the  effect  of  eradicating,  destroying,  all  vicious  tendencies; 
and  in  proportion  as  vice  is  extirpated  virtues  grow  and 
flourish.  The  fruit  of  virtue  is  purity  of  heart,  whereby 
we  may  attain  to  the  possession  of  apostolic  charity  in 
its  full  perfection." 

This  forms  the  conclusion  of  the  exhortation  addressed 
by  the  saintly  abbot  to  his  novice.  It  has  justly  been 
said  that  it  may  serve  as  a  model  to  any  Superior  who 
has  to  deliver  a  discourse  on  the  occasion  of  a  clothing 
or  a  profession.  It  also  affords  an  admirable  text  for 
the  meditation  of  a  novice  who  is  preparing  himself  for 
the  ceremony. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

SOME  FINAL  COUNSELS  TO  NOVICES. 

We  will  terminate  this  second  part  with  some  advice 
to  novices,  which  is  given  in  the  form  of  detached  sentences. 
They  will  form  the  conclusion  and  at  the  same  time  the 
completion  of  what  has  gone  before.  They  are  thirty-one 
in  number,  so  as  to  supply  matter  for  examination  every 
day  for  a  month. 

1.  Frequently  ask  yourself,  as  St.  Bernard  asked  him- 
self: "For  what  purpose  have  I  come  here?  Why  have 
I  left  my  family,  my  country,  the  world?"  Your  answer 
will  be  this:  "For  the  conversion  of  my  life;  in  order 
to  become  humble,  gentle,  simple,  obedient,  mortified, 
willing  to  make  sacrifices;  in  short,  to  become  ^  victim 
offered  up  to  the  good  pleasure  and  to  the  glory  of  God, 
in  union  with  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

2.  Never,  never  give  way  to  discouragement  I  Dis- 
couragement turns  our  steps  from  the  path  to  heaven, 
on  which  we  entered  by  our  vocation,  and  that  is  no 
slight  misfortune. 

3.  In  your  intercourse  with  the  Director  of  Novices 
conduct  yourself  as  a  child  five  years  old,  animated  by 
the  spirit  of  faith,  of  simplicity,  of  obedience. 

4.  If  it  costs  you  a  great  effort  to  perform  some  act 

of  humility,  of  patience,  of  obedience,  be  assured  that  this 

is  a  great  grace  which  divine  Providence  offers  you,  one 

224 


SOMFT  FINAL  COUNSELS  TO  NOVICES.         225 

perhaps  of  those  signal  graces  which  enable  one  to  rise 
with  rapid  flight  to  a  high  degree  of  perfection. 

5.  Detach  yourself  from  yourself.  Self,  the  ego,  is  our 
most  formidable  adversary. 

6.  Never  say,  in  extenuation  of  your  faults:  I  am  not 
a  saint;  for  you  are  bound  to  become  one  if  you  use  aright 
the  spiritual  succor  afforded  you  in  religion. 

7.  Never  volimtarily  waste  a  single  moment  of  your 
time. 

8.  Never  seek  to  excuse  yourself;  when  you  are  re- 
proved preserve  a  humble,  simple,  modest  silence. 

9.  Follow  in  a  spirit  of  faith  the  maxim  of  St.  Francis 
of  Sales:   "Ask  for  nothing,  refuse  nothing.'* 

10.  Apply  yourself  vigorously,  energetically  to  conquer 
your  ruling  passion. 

11.  Be  equally  determined  to  eradicate  your  faults  of 
character. 

12.  Cultivate  great  deHcacy  of  conscience  and  practise 
absolute  obedience  to  your  confessor. 

13.  Never  think  otherwise  than  kindly  of  every  one 
of  your  fellow-Religious,  and  you  will  win  rich  blessings 
from  the  Hearts  of  Jesus  and  of  Mary. 

14.  Place  yourself  with  unfeigned  humiUty  at  the  feet 
of  every  one  of  your  Brethren.  You  have  every  reason 
to  love  that  posture  and  to  keep  it. 

15.  Take  great  pains  to  become  a  prayerful  soul  by  use 
of  the  means  wherewith  the  rehgious  life  furnishes  you; 
spiritual  readings,  direction,  habits  of  regularity,  practices 
of  mortification. 

16.  Do  not  forget  that  silence  well  kept  is  a  source  of 
happiness  and  of  fervor. 

17.  Cherish  a  love  for  Community  life  and  hold  in  abhor- 
rence exemptions,  privileges,  and  dispenses. 

18.  Everything  about  a  Religious  ought  to  be  in  keeping 
with  his  state;  his  deportment,  bis  demeanor,  his  gestures. 


226         SOME  FINAL  COUNSELS  TO  NOVICES. 

the  tone  of  his  voice,  his  custody  of  the  eyes,  his  sorrows, 
and  his  joys.  ' 

19.  The  reUgious  life,  the  novitiate,  are  henceforth  your 
father,  mother,  family,  your  relatives  and  your  home. 

20.  Love  the  seclusion  of  the  novitiate  as  being  your 
protection,  your  safeguard,  and  take  delight  in  it. 

21.  Conceive  a  filial  affection  for  your  Congregation 
and  take  a  loving  interest  in  all  that  concerns  it;  its 
aim,  its  spirit,  its  works,  its  Rule  and  Constitutions,  its 
history,  the  customs,  the  religious  habit  pecuUar  to  it. 

22.  Be  faithful  to  the  least  observances,  to  the  most 
trifling  practices  of  the  novitiate,  and  attach  great  weight 
to  the  slightest  counsels  given  you. 

23.  Do  not  allow  yourself  to  make  comparisons  between 
your  Congregation  and  others  that  holy  Church  has  ap- 
proved. Hold  them  all  in  the  greatest  respect,  and  reject 
any  depreciatory  thought  concerning  them  as  displeasing 
in  God's  sight. 

24.  Compose  an  act  of  oblation  for  yourself  in  your 
character  of  a  victim,  since  you  are  supposed  to  have 
made  one  on  the  day  of  your  clothing,  and  renew  it  fre- 
quently. 

25.  Approach  the  tribunal  of  penance  with  the  spirit 
of  faith,  and  cultivate  this  spirit  in  all  your  intercourse 
with  the  director  of  your  conscience. 

26.  Live  in  unbroken  union  with  Our  Lord  as  a  victim 
in  the  adorable  Sacrament  of  the  Altar. 

27.  Endeavor  in  all  you  do  to  be  actuated  by  the  love  of 
God. 

28.  Look  to  Mary,  the  sweet  Queen  of  our  hearts,  with 
childlike  confidence  and  affection.  She  is  the  joy  and 
delight  of  the  novitiate,  and  she  gives  grace  and  fervor  to 
persevere  to  all  who  truly  love  her. 

29.  Cherish  a  loving  devotion  for  St.  Joseph,  for  the 
holy  Patrons  of  your  Congregation,  and  for  the  holy  angels. 


SOME  FINAL  COUNSELS  TO  NOVICES.  227 

30.  Give  thanks  to  God  every  day  for  the  favor  He  has 
bestowed  on  you  in  making  you  a  child  of  our  Holy  Father 
the  Pope  and  a  member  of  holy  Church,  and  serve  them 
both  with  joyful  and  loving  homage. 

31.  In  all  things  look  to  God  only,  God  only!  Seek  to 
fulfil  His  holy  will,  His  good  pleasure,  seek  His  interests, 
His  glory  alone.  All  the  light,  the  strength,  all  the  peace 
and  consolation  which  is  our  portion  in  this  our  exile,  all 
the  hope  of  our  future  country  is  contained  in  these  two 
words:  God  alone!    Dimseui! 


part  111. 
XLbc  iReltdlous  iDowa* 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  DAY  OP  SOLEMN  PROFESSION.      WHAT  A  VOW  REALLY  IS. 

What  a  happy  day  the  day  of  his  profession  is  for  the 
novice!  The  exercises  of  the  novitiate  have  been  his 
preparation  for  it,  and  the  preparation  was  a  long  one. 
When  the  term  of  his  probation  approached  its  end,  the 
Community  were  assembled,  and  after  earnest  prayer  and 
mature  deliberation  they  gave  their  votes.  Then  the 
ecclesiastical  authority  intervened,  a  canonical  examina- 
tion took  place,  and  both  the  votes  and  the  examination 
were  in  the  novice's  favor.  This  was  indeed  welcome  news 
for  him,  when  it  was  told  him  one  day,  as  it  was  to  the 
virgins  in  the  Gospel:  "Behold,  the  bridegroom  cometh," 
He  is  coming  to  accomplish  the  union,  to  consummate  the 
sacrifice.  What  graces  are  in  store  for  the  chosen  child  of 
God,  what  supreme  joy!  Up  to  that  time  he  was  only  a 
victim  offered  to  God.  The  period  of  his  noviceship  was 
the  period  of  his  mystic  oblation  of  himself.  Now  he  is 
to  become  a  whole  burnt-offering  in  God's  sight;  and  in 
his  rapturous  gratitude  and  love,  he  exclaims  with  the 
Psalmist:  "I  will  go  in  to  the  altar  of  God.  to  God  who 

228 


WHAT  A    VOW  REALLY  IS.  229 

giveth  joy  to  my  youth.  I  will  enter  in  and  take  up  my 
abode  in  His  holy  house,  and  the  holocaust  I  shall  offer 
shall  be  none  other  than  myself.  For  the  sparrow  hath 
found  herself  a  house,  and  the  turtle  a  nest  for  herself; 
but  as  for  me,  Thy  altars,  O  Lord  of  hosts,  my  King  and 
my  God,  are  my  dwelling-place;  and  there  before  Thy  face 
and  for  the  sake  of  Thy  love  I  shall  abide  forever  that  I 
may  sacrifice  myself,  that  I  may  be  a  victim  immolated 
for  Thy  good  pleasure,  consumed  by  the  flame  of  charity  for 
Thy  greater  glory." 

At  length  the  day  of  profession  arrives,  and  all  the  Com- 
munity hold  high  festival;  for  it  is  a  day  sacred  not  only 
for  the  novice,  but  for  all  his  fellow-Religious.  When  they 
witness  the  touching  spectacle  of  the  complete  self-surrender 
of  the  youthful  monk,  all  the  members  of  the  Community 
renew  with  fresh  fervor  the  vows  they  once  took.  They 
are  reminded  that  they  are  victims,  and  they  desire  to 
make  their  sacrifice  more  perfect  than  ever.  A  profession 
in  a  religious  House  is  a  source  of  great  blessings  to  all  the 
inmates. 

In  the  first  part  of  this  work  we  demonstrated  at  some 
length  that  at  his  profession  the  Religious  becomes  a  per- 
fect and  entire  holocaust,  and  there  is  no  need  to  enlarge 
further  on  that  point.  We  are  now,  whilst  confining  our 
attention  principally  to  the  practical  side  of  the  solemn 
act  accompHshed  by  the  Religious  when  he  consecrates 
himself  irrevocably  to  his  God,  about  to  consider  the  vows 
which  constitute  the  essence  of  the  religious  life.  It  is  by 
them  that  the  soul  is  fixed  in  the  state  of  a  burnt-offering, 
and  it  is  to  them  that  we  must  devote  the  most  careful  study, 
making  ourselves  well  acquainted  with  what  a  vow  really  is, 
with  the  distinction  between  the  vows  of  religion  and  the 
virtues  which  are  the  end  and  fulfilment  of  those  vows,  with 
the  obligations  laid  upon  us  by  those  vows  and  by  the 
virtues  corresponding  to  them,  subjects  which  one  and  all 


230  WHAT  A   VOW  REALLY  IS. 

are  of  the  highest  moment,  and  to  which  the  newly  pro- 
fessed must  give  the  closest  attention. 

For  the  matter  of  that,  these  matters  are  nothing  new 
to  him.  The  principal  object  of  the  novitiate  is,  as  we 
have  said  previously,  to  afford  the  Religious  the  oppor- 
tunity of  acquainting  himself  with  the  obligations  involved 
in  the  religious  profession,  and  consequently  what  we  are 
now  about  to  say  ought  to  be  a  subject  of  special  study 
on  the  part  of  the  novice.  But  since  the  act  of  profession 
consists  in  taking  the  vows,  it  follows  naturally  that  as  we 
have  spoken  of  the  profession,  we  should  now  treat  of  this 
serious  and  important  act. 

First  of  all,  what  is  a  vow  from  a  general  point  of  view? 
All  theologians  tell  us  that  a  vow  is  a  deliberate  promise 
made  to  God  of  something  more  virtuous. 

The  latter  part  of  this  definition  is  somewhat  obscure, 
but  in  the  following  explanations  it  will  be  elucidated,  as 
well  as  the  other  terms  of  the  definition,  sufficiently  for  our 
present  purpose. 

1.  A  vow  is  **  a  promise."  It  is  not  a  question  here  of  a 
resolution  merely,  how  generous  and  fervent  soever.  A 
resolution,  of  whatever  nature  it  may  be,  never  lays  the 
soul  under  a  fresh  obligation.  If  it  is  kept,  so  much  the 
more  virtue  and  merit  for  the  soul;  if  it  is  not  kept,  this 
neglect  may  be  an  imperfection,  but  it  is  in  nowise  a  sin. 
A  vow,  on  the  contrary,  is  the  initial  act  of  a  real  engage- 
ment into  which  one  enters,  of  a  definite  obHgation  of  which 
one  must  acquit  one's  self  under  pain  of  sin  either  mortal  or 
venial. 

2.  It  is  a  * 'deliberate"  promise.  This  word  indicates 
that  if  a  vow  is  to  be  real  and  binding,  it  is  essential  that 
there  should  be  exact  knowledge  of  what  is  promised, 
full  consent  and  entire  liberty  on  the  part  of  the  individual 
who  takes  it. 

This  is  partly  the  reason  why  the  novitiate  was  estab- 


WHAT  A   VOW  REALLY  IS.  231 

lished  by  the  Church  and  by  founders  of  Orders  in  all 
religious  Institutes.  The  novice  ought  to  be  well  aware 
of  the  precise  nature  and  extent  of  the  vows  which  he  will 
take  on  the  day  of  his  profession;  and  the  Church  requires 
that  there  should  be  such  complete  liberty  in  regard  to 
taking  those  vows,  that  should  the  Religious  only  take 
them  under  compulsion,  or  from  motives  of  human  respect, 
they  are  null  and  valueless. 

3.  A  deliberate  promise  ^'made  to  God.''  A  vow  is,  in 
fact,  an  act  of  supreme  worship,  the  worship  due  to  God 
alone.  Therefore  no  vow  can  be  made  directly  to  the 
Blessed  Virgin  or  to  ona  of  the  saints,  although  it  may  be 
made  in  their  honor  or  to  obtain  their  favor.  It  is  with 
God  directly  that  the  engagement  is  entered  into,  and  we 
know  by  the  proceedings  of  the  Church  that  a  vow  is  a 
contract  that  God  never  fails  to  ratify,  because  we  are 
always  bound  to  fulfil  it. 

Hence  it  will  be  seen  that  in  a  question  of  dispensing 
from  vows,  especially  religious  vows,  there  must  be  solid 
and  weighty  reasons.  The  power  of  dispensing  from 
them  belongs  only  to  ecclesiastical  authorities,  and  in  the 
exercise  of  their  prerogative  they  must  always  safeguard 
the  sacred  and  divine  rights  of  the  Most  High.  Thus  any 
individual,  most  of  all  a  Religious,  who  should  allege 
fictitious  reasons  to  obtain  release  from  some  vow,  would 
not  only  be  guilty  of  a  grave  fault  of  duplicity,  but  would 
entirely  fail  in  attaining  his  end,  for  the  dispensation 
would  be  void  and  nugatory. 

Nevertheless  there  might  be  legitimate  motives  for 
desiring  a  dispensation,  and  if  after  they  have  been  can- 
didly disclosed  to  those  who  stand  toward  us  in  the  place 
of  God,  if  the  dispensation  is  granted,  it  may  be  accepted 
in  peace,  with  a  quiet  conscience.  The  same  may  be  said 
in  regard  to  the  annulling  and  conmiuting  of  a  vow.* 

^  The  annulling  of  a  vow  is  the  act  whereby  a  lawful  Suijerior 


232  WHAT  A   VOW  REALLY  IS. 

One  great  advantage  resulting  from  making  a  vow  is 
that  the  accomphshment  of  what  has  been  promised 
thereby  becomes  a  reUgious  act. 

In  order  to  understand  this  aright,  one  must  be  aware 
that  the  merit  of  an  act  depends  in  part  on  the  virtue 
whence  it  proceeds.  Thus  an  act  of  charity  is  more  per- 
fect and  more  meritorious  in  itself  than  an  act  of  penance, 
because  charity  is  a  more  perfect  virtue  than  penitence. 
Now  after  the  theological  virtues  of  faith,  hope,  and  char- 
ity, there  is  none  more  perfect  than  the  virtue  of  religion, 
by  which  we  pay  to  God  the  worship  and  the  homage  due 
to  Him.  If  therefore  the  act  that  we  pledged  ourselves 
by  vow  to  perform  is  thereby  elevated  to  the  dignity  of  an 
act  of  religion,  the  added  excellence  accruing  from  the 
vow  is  apparent.  For  instance,  I  refrain  from  reading  a 
book  which  is  entertaining  but  in  no  wise  useful;  this  is  an 
act  of  mortification  on  my  part;  but  if  I  make  a  vow  not 
to  read  it,  the  accomplishment  of  that  vow  becomes  an 
act  of  the  virtue  of  religion.  In  short,  the  merit  is  not 
only  augmented,  but  doubled;  for,  in  exalting  my  act  to 
the  dignity  of  a  rehgious  act,  it  does  not  cease  to  be  a 
work  of  mortification  which  is  in  itself  meritorious. 

4.  A  promise  made  to  God  of  something  more  virtuous; 
that  is  to  say,  of  something  which  it  is  more  virtuous  to 
do  than  to  omit.  Since  the  object  of  a  vow  is  to  render  to 
God  special  worship,  this  end  would  not  be  attained  if  the 
matter  of  the  vow  were  not  something  which  it  was  better 
and  more  perfect  to  do  than  to  leave  undone.  The  fol- 
lowing explanations  and  examples  will  serve  to  throw 
additional  light  on  what  has  been  somewhat  obscurely 
expressed. 

declares  some  vow  made  by  his  inferior  to  be  null,  because  it  was 
one  which  that  individual  was  not  qualified  to  make.  The  Superior 
commutes  a  vow  when  in  the  place  of  what  has  been  promised  he 
substitutes  another  act  which  is  equivalent  to  it. 


WHAT  A   VOW  REALLY  IS.  233 

The  matter  of  the  vow  or  the  thing  promised  may  be 
either  an  obHgatory  act,  or  one  which  is  only  of  counsel, 
or  even  an  act  of  quite  an  indifferent  character;  take,  for 
instance,  to  hear  Mass  on  Sundays  and  holydays,  which  is 
an  obligatory  act;  to  turn  the  left  cheek  to  one  who  has 
struck  us  on  the  right,  which  is  only  of  counsel;  and  to 
read,  study,  go  on  a  journey,  all  of  which  are  acts  indifferient 
in  themselves,  and  only  rendered  good  by  the  intention 
one  has,  the  end  one  proposes  to  one^s  self  in  performing 
them.  Thus  we  may  read  a  book  for  the  purpose  of  gain- 
ing knowledge  of  the  duties  of  our  state,  or  may  under- 
take a  journey  for  the  sake  of  reconciling  ourselves  with 
an  enemy,  etc. 

In  the  first  case  the  vow  is  the  promise  to  perform  a 
more  virtuous  action  because,  in  fact,  the  thing  commanded 
(to  assist  at  holy  Mass)  acquires  additional  excellence  in 
virtue  of  the  vow,  and  thereby  becomes  more  pleasing  to 
God.  By  fulfilling  the  command  after  having  made  the 
vow  we  perform  a  better  action  than  if  we  had  not  made 
the  vow. 

In  regard  to  an  act  which  is  only  of  counsel,  the  vow 
adds  a  greater  value  to  what  is  already  good  in  itself,  and 
thus  renders  the  act  a  better  one.  If  we  perform  the  act 
without  previously  making  a  vow,  we  do  a  good  work; 
but  if  we  choose  to  make  it  the  matter  of  a  vow,  we  volun- 
tarily lay  ourselves  under  an  obligation  by  which  it  is  bet- 
ter to  be  bound  than  to  retain  our  Uberty  of  action. 

Finally,  in  the  case  of  a  vow  concerning  some  act  of  an 
indifferent  nature,  as,  for  example,  to  take  a  journey, 
besides  the  intention  which  gives  the  deed  value  (sup- 
posing it  to  be  a  journey  of  charity  or  of  devotion)  the 
vow  imparts  to  it  a  special  excellency.  What  was  volun- 
tary becomes  obligatory;  the  act  acquires  the  value  of  a 
religious  act  over  and  above  its  own  intrinsic  value.  Thus 
the  act  one  has  pledged  one^s  self  by  vow  to  perform  be- 


234  WHAT  A   VOW  REALLY  IS. 

comes  a  better  and  a  higher  one,  and  more  pleasing  in 
God's  sight  than  if  the  yow  had  not  been  taken. 

This  fact  is  one  of  the  chief  sources  of  encouragement 
and  consolation  to  the  Religious;  for  while  ordinary 
Christians  only  practise  the  virtue  of  religion  when  they 
perform  acts  directly  appertaining  to  it,  i.e.,  acts  of  divine 
worship,  the  Religious  may  be  said  in  a  certain  sense  to 
practise  it  continually;  and  his  whole  life,  provided  he 
lives  up  to  his  high  calling,  thus  becomes  a  perpetual  holo- 
caust, one  in  which  every  act  without  exception  is  one  of 
homage  to  almighty  God. 

Such  is  the  exact  idea  which  we  ought  to  form  of  the 
vow  in  general. 

It  may  be  well  to  add  that  if  a  private  individual  makes 
a  vow,  it  lays  him  under  no  obligations  but  those  of  his 
own  choice.  It  may  be  of  a  temporary  or  permanent 
nature;  binding  under  pain  of  mortal  or  venial  sin;  its 
accomplishment  may  be  fixed  for  a  certain  date,  or  to 
take  place  under  certain  circumstances;  it  may  be  condi- 
tional or  absolute.  In  short,  it  depends  wholly  and  solely 
on  the  will  of  the  person  who  makes  it. 

This  only  holds  good  in  regard  to  private  vows.  With 
the  vows  taken  in  religious  Communities  it  is  otherwise. 
One  is  free  either  to  take  or  not  to  take  them;  in  the  latter 
case  the  novice  is  not  professed,  but  leaves  the  Order;  if, 
however,  he  takes  the  vows,  it  is  not  in  his  power  either 
to  extend  or  restrict  their  obligations.  He  can  only  take 
them  conformably  to  the  Rule,  or  else  they  will  be  value- 
less in  God's  sight. 

We  shall  now  consider  the  vows  of  religion  more  in 
detail. 


CHAPTER  II. 

ON  THE   RELIGIOUS   VOWS. 

By  the  religious  vows  is  meant  the  three  vows  of  poverty, 
chastity,  and  obedience,  taken  in  an  Institute  approved 
by  the  Holy  See. 

These  three  vows  form  the  essence  of  the  religious  life. 
The  religious  life  has  been  defined  as:  '*A  permanent 
and  fixed  manner  of  life,  approved  by  the  Church,  in 
which  the  faithful  pledge  themselves  to  strive  after  per- 
fection by  means  of  the  three  vows  of  poverty,  chastity, 
and  obedience,  taken  in  accordance  with  the  Rule  of  the 
Order." 

1.  It  is  said  to  be  a  fixed  and  permanent  manner  of  life 
approved  by  the  Church.  Without  the  approbation  of 
the  highest  ecclesiastical  authority,  what  warranty  would 
the  faithful  possess  for  the  excellence  of  the  most  perfect 
Rules  of  an  Order  to  all  appearance  most  fervent?  The 
Church  can  not  be  deceived  in  her  estimate  of  the  end 
proposed  by  a  Congregation,  and  the  means  whereby  they 
purpose  to  attain  that  end. 

2.  Furthermore,  it  is  a  life  ''in  which  the  faithful  pledge 
themselves  to  strive  after  perfection."  This  striving 
after  perfection  is  the  essence  of  the  religious  life,  and 
every  Religious  is  under  a  solemn  engagement  to  make 
this  tending  toward  perfection  the  permanent  attitude 
of  his  soul. 

3.  "By  means  of  the  vows."    This  is  an  indispensable 

235 


236  ON  THE  RELIGIOUS  VOWS. 

necessary  condition.  Without  the  vows  the  monk  or 
nun  might  aspire  after  perfection,  as  indeed  many  persons 
do  who  live  in  the  world.  But  the  latter  are  at  liberty 
to  relinquish  the  pursuit  of  perfection  and  confine  them- 
selves to  keeping  the  commandments;  whereas  the  Re- 
ligious is  fixed  for  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  this  condition 
of  striving  after  perfection,  and  he  can  not  desist  from  it 
under  pain  of  mortal  sin.  Now  it  is  the  religious  vows 
which  bind  him  to  this  state  of  life. 

4.  ''Vows  taken  in  accordance  with  the  Rule  of  the 
Order."  It  is,  in  fact,  from  the  Rule  and  Constitutions 
that  the  particular  extent  given  to  the  vows  in  each 
several  Order  is  learned  as  well  as  the  exact  manner  of 
practising  them. 

After  the  priesthood,  there  is  nothing  more  holy,  more 
sublime  than  the  religious  life.  It  is  of  divine  institution. 
Our  Lord  Himself  was  its  Founder,  and  it  was  followed 
in  the  earliest  ages  of  Christianity. 

Memorials  of  great  antiquity  leave  no  doubt  on  this 
point.  St.  Martha,  when  driven  out  of  Palestine  with 
St.  Lazarus  and  St.  Mary  Magdalen,  landed  in  the  south 
of  Gaul,  and  founded  a  convent  there  for  devout  women. 
Her  sister,  St.  Magdalen,  is  said  to  have  embraced  the 
religious  life  in  the  East.  St.  Ignatius  the  Martyr  wrote 
to  the  Philippians  thus:  **I  salute  the  Association  of 
Virgins  and  the  Congregation  of  Widows;''  and  elsewhere 
he  bids  the  faithful  of  Tarsus  to  respect  virgins  who  ai<e 
consecrated  to  God,  and  to  look  upon  widows  as  the 
altars  of  the  Most  High.  And  in  his  epistle  to  the  people 
of  Antioch  he  says:  ''Let  the  virgins  remember  to  whom 
they  have  been  consecrated.'' 

Unquestionably  religious  Communities  both  of  men  and 
women  existed  long  before  the  time  of  St.  Anthony  and 
St.  Pachomius,  who  are  termed  the  Fathers  of  the  monastic 
Ufe.     It  is  evident  that  from  the  period  when  the  deserts 


ON  THE  RELIGIOUS  VOWS.  237 

were  peopled  by  so  many  holy  hermits,  the  religious  life 
was  held  in  high  esteem,  and  the  history  of  monasticism 
both  in  the  East  and  in  the  West  abounds  in  marvels. 

However,  all  vows  were  simple  vows  until  the  twelfth 
century,  when,  at  the  second  Lateran  Council,  Pope 
Innocent  II.  gave  them  the  greater  dignity  of  solemn 
vows.  We  shall  now  show  what  was  the  effect  of  this 
act  of  supreme  authority  on  the  part  of  the  Vicar  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

Religious  vows  are  either  simple  vows  or  solemn  vows. 
They  are  in  no  wise  different  as  to  substance,  that  is  to 
say,  whatever  vows  the  Religious  takes,  whether  they 
be  simple  or  solemn,  they  are  equally  strict  as  regards 
practice;  the  same  poverty,  the  same  chastity,  the  same 
obedience  are  required  by  both.  The  distinction  between 
them  consists  in  this:  if  the  Religious  who  has  taken  the 
solemn  vows  should  perform  any  act  contrary  to  his 
vow,  that  act  would  be  invalid;  whereas  in  the  case  of  a 
Religious  who  had  taken  simple  vows,  the  same  act, 
although  illicit,  would  yet  be  valid. 

But  if  it  is  true  that  solemn  vows  do  not  bind  the  monk 
or  nun  to  a  stricter  observance  of  poverty,  chastity,  and 
obedience,  still  it  can  not  be  denied  that  they  admit  him 
to  a  state  of  greater  perfection,  because  they  are  a  greater 
restraint  upon  his  liberty,  and  consequently  they  form 
a  more  absolute  consecration  to  God.  Moreover,  solemn 
profession,  and  that  alone,  is  said  to  be  a  second  baptism, 
and  to  be  comparable  to  martyrdom. 

The  religious  Institutes  which  take  solemn  vows  are 
canonically  called  religious  Orders;  those  that  only  take 
simple  vows  are  termed  religious  Congregations.  But 
even  in  some  Orders  strictly  so  called  the  Religious  only 
take  simple  vows;  this  is  a  matter  determined  by  the 
Constitutions.  The  Church  also  sometimes  gives  to  a 
simple  vow  the  virtue  and  force  of  a  solemn  vow.     In 


238  ON  THE  RELIGIOUS  VOWS. 

France,  after  the  Revolution  of  1793,  the  Church,  for  wise 
reasons,  ordered  that  no  religious  women,  whether  they 
belonged  to  an  old  Order  or  to  a  modern  Congregation, 
should  take  any  but  simple  vows. 

Solemn  vows  can  not  be  otherwise  than  perpetual;  this 
is  an  absolutely  indispensable  condition.  Simple  vows 
may  either  be  perpetual  or  only  for  a  limited  period. 
These  differences  originate  in  the  individual  views  of  each 
Founder  of  a  religious  Congregation,  which  are  always 
well  grounded  and  deserving  of  respect,  especially  if  the 
Rule  and  Constitutions  are  approved  by  the  ecclesiastical 
authorities.  There  are  even  Communities  some  members 
of  which  take  perpetual,  others  temporary,  vows;  others 
again  whose  members  only  take  one  or  two  of  the  three 
vows,  e.g.,  that  of  obedience. 

But  whatever  the  period  may  be  for  the  duration  of 
the  vows,  whether  they  are  lifelong,  or  only  for  one  year, 
it  must  be  remembered  that  solemn  vows  and  simple 
vows,  perpetual  vows  and  temporary  vows,  are  equally 
binding  upon  the  Religious,  equally  strict  in  regard  to 
the  personal  practice  of  the  vow,  for  the  time  being;  that 
is  to  say,  the  Religious  who  takes  the  vows  for  one  year 
only  must  consider  himself  bound  to  practise  poverty, 
obedience,  and  chastity  during  that  year,  no  less  strictly 
than  the  Religious  who  has  pledged  himself  by  solemn 
vow  to  observe  them  all  his  life  long. 
•  It  will  therefore  be  unnecessary  again  to  speak  of  the 
distinction  between  solemn  and  simple  vows.  What  we 
have  to  say  in  the  following  pages  will  be  for  all  Religious 
in  general. 


CHAPTER  III. 

ON  THE   VOW   OF   POVERTY. 

The  vow  of  poverty  is  the  sacrifice  which  the  Religious 
makes  to  God  of  his  temporal  possessions,  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  deprive  himself,  to  the  extent  prescribed  by  his 
Rule,  of  the  right  to  possess  anything. 

The  vow  of  poverty  is  a  real  sacrifice,  nay  more,  it  is  a 
holocaust,  that  is,  a  complete  and  entire  sacrifice,  accord- 
ing to  the  words  of  Pope  St.  Gregory  the  Great,  whom  St. 
Thomas  quotes  when  speaking  of  religious  poverty: 
"Those  who  assist  the  poor  by  bestowing  on  them  a  por- 
tion of  what  they  possess,  offer  an  oblation  by  this  good 
work,  because  they  sacrifice  to  God  a  part  of  their  prop- 
erty, whilst  they  retain  the  other  part  for  themselves. 
But  those  who  reserve  nothing  at  all  offer  a  holocaust, 
which  is  more  than  an  ordinary  sacrifice." 

The  Constitutions  of  every  Order  or  Congregation  de- 
termine, in  a  practical  and  decisive  manner,  the  matter 
and  the  extent  of  the  spiritual  sacrifice  which  the  Religious 
has  to  make,  the  rights  which  he  relinquishes  and  those 
which  he  retains;  consequently  it  would  be  superfluous 
and  useless  for  us  to  enter  into  such  details.  It  is  enough 
to  state  the  obligations  binding  upon  every  Religious, 
whatever  the  Institute  to  which  he  belongs;  and  to  ac- 
complish this  we  have  only  to  mention  the  various  acts 
which  constitute  a  violation  of  the  vow.  This  is,  after  all, 
what  it  most  concerns  the  Religious  to  know,  and  what 

most  calls  for  his  attention.    For  the  vow  of  poverty  has 

239 


240  ON  THE  VOW  OF  POVERTY. 

this  peculiarity,  that,  unlike  the  other  vows  of  chastity  and 
obedience,  virtues  to  the  practice  of  which  we  have  been 
accustomed  since  our  childhood,  thanks  to  our  Christian 
education,  poverty  is  something  new  to  us,  and  we  have 
yet  to  be  trained  to  the  practice  of  it,  since  our  natural 
inclination  leads  us  constantly  to  violate  the  vow,  because 
almost  all  the  acts  which  it  prohibits  are  good  and  lawful 
out  of  the  pale  of  the  vow. 

We  must  observe  beforehand  that  permission  properly 
obtained  from  a  Superior  or  reasonably  taken  for  granted, 
as  well  as  the  existence  of  an  established  custom,  justifies 
the  transgressions  of  the  law  in  the  instances  we  are  about 
to  give. 

The  vow  of  poverty  may  be  violated  in  two  ways:  1.  By 
appropriating  to  one's  self  some  article  without  permis- 
sion.   2.  By  giving  that  article  to  another  person. 

The  first  manner  of  breaking  the  vow  includes  the  fol- 
lowing cases: 

1.  Taking  an  article  of  any  kind  for  one's  self,  whether 
that  article  belongs  to  the  Community  or  to  an  externe; 
whether  it  be  something  found  by  chance,  or  one  of  which 
the  owner  is  known;  whether  the  individual  who  takes 
possession  of  it  intends  to  keep  it  as  his  own  or  simply  to 
make  use  of  it;  finally,  whether  he  takes  it  for  himself  or 
for  another. 

Every  transgression  of  the  seventh  commandment,  be 
it  observed,  is  doubly  sinful  in  a  Religious,  because  in 
committing  it  he  renders  himself  guilty  of  a  sin  against  the 
virtue  of  justice  by  violating  the  seventh  commandment, 
and  of  a  sin  against  the  virtue  of  religion  by  breaking  his 
vow  of  poverty,  and  of  both  he  ought  to  accuse  himself  in 
confession. 

In  the  second  place  let  us  observe  that  a  theft  commit- 
ted in  a  religious  House  assumes  the  character  of  sacri- 
lege. 


ON  THE  VOW  OF  POVERTY,  241 

2.  Retaining  in  one's  own  hands,  or  in  the  keeping  of 
some  one  else,  anything  which  one  has  been  permitted  to 
have,  but  which  one  keeps  with  a  love  of  possession,  in  a 
spirit  of  ownership;  a  fault  into  which  a  Religious  may- 
fall,  if,  for  instance,  he  takes  pains  to  hide  something 
which  he  thinks  his  Superior  is  likely  to  take  from  him.^ 

3.  Keeping  anything  beyond  the  time  fixed  by  the  Supe- 
rior, and,  supposing  that  permission  to  retain  it  longer 
had  been  taken  for  granted,  wilfully  to  neglect  to  mention 
that  fact,  and  obtain  a  renewal  of  the  permission  to  keep 
or  use  the  article  in  question. 

4.  Accepting  anything  whatsoever  either  from  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Community  or  an  exteme,  whether  with  a  view 
to  permanent  possession  or  temporary  use.  It  is  not  for- 
bidden to  accept  a  present  given  to  us  for  the  Community, 
if  in  taking  it  we  have  the  intention  of  handing  it  over  to 
the  proper  person.  In  fact  it  would  be  wrong  to  refuse 
something  which  was  offered  us  to  be  given  to  the  Supe- 
rior, unless  ordinary  prudence  dictated  the  refusal. 

5.  Accepting  a  gift  of  any  description  from  relatives, 
friends,  or  any  other  persons.  One  maxim  which  forms 
part  of  canon  law  is  this:  All  that  the  monk  acquires  is 
acquired  for  the  monastery.  It  is,  however,  not  neces- 
sary for  the  Religious  to  inform  the  donor  of  the  gift  that 
he  is  forbidden  to  accept  it  for  himself.  It  is  enough  if 
he  has  the  intention  of  handing  everything  over  to  his 
Superior. 

6.  Keeping  to  one's  self  a  part  or  the  whole  of  the  price  of 
work  he  has  done,  or  the  fees  for  ministerial  duty  which  he 
has  performed. 

7.  Buying  anything,  even  if  it  be  for  the  Community. 

8.  Borrowing  either  from  a  member  of  the  Community 

*  St.  Francis  of  Sales,  writing  to  a  Community  where  the  vow  of 
poverty  was  observed  with  great  laxity,  reminds  them  of  the  old 
proverb :  The  Religious  who  owns  a  cent  is  not  worth  a  cent. 


242  ON  THE  VOW  OF  POVERTY. 

or  from  a  stran^ier.  In  the  first  case  the  fault  would  be 
much  less  grave. 

9.  Spending  on  one's  self  what  has  been  saved,  princi- 
pally money,  as,  for  instance,  on  a  journey  one  may  have 
economized  a  part  of  the  sum  given  one  to  defray  the  ex- 
penses incurred.  All  that  is  over  ought  to  be  returned  to 
the  Superior. 

Such  are  the  ways  by  which  the  vow  of  poverty  may  be 
broken  in  the  first  manner. 

The  second  manner  of  transgressing  the  vow  of  pov- 
erty. This  is  done  by  bestowing  anything  on  another 
person. 

1.  It  is  forbidden  to  give  anything  of  any  description 
either  to  a  member  of  the  Community  or  to  a  secular. 
As  the  Religious  possesses  nothing  of  his  own,  to  give 
anything  away  implies  a  theft  from  the  Community, 
which  on  the  one  hand  is  of  the  nature  of  sacrilege,  and 
on  the  other  obliges  him  to  make  restitution. 

However,  supposing  that  the  Superior  has  given  certain 
things  to  the  Religious,  as,  for  instance,  provisions  for  his 
journey,  which  he  is  not  supposed  to  take  back  to  the 
monastery  and  which  are  therefore  absolutely  his  own, 
he  would  be  at  liberty  to  give  a  portion  to  a  poor  man  as 
alms,  or  to  his  fellow-travelers  if  occasion  arose,  out  of 
feelings  of  good-breeding  and  Christian  politeness. 

2.  The  Religious  must  not  accept  anything  on  behalf  of 
a  third  person  not  expressly  named  by  the  giver.  For 
instance  supposing  a  sum  of  money  was  given  him  for  the 
relief  of  the  poor  in  general  without  any  special  person  or 
persons  being  named,  he  ought  not  to  take  it,  because  the 
appropriation  of  it  to  certain  indi\'iduals  on  his  own 
authority  would  be  an  act  of  ownership.  But  it  would  not 
be  an  act  of  ownership,  and  consequently  no  sin  against 
poverty,  to  accept  an  alms  for  some  definite  person  or 
persons  who  were  in  want,  for  a  religious  House,  or  some 


ON  THE  VOW  OF  POVERTY.  243 

particular  charitable  work.  In  that  case  he  would  only 
be  intrusted  with  a  commission,  and  discretion  aJone  would 
govern  his  conduct. 

3.  The  Religious  must  not  sell  anything,  and  if  he  should 
be  charged  with  the  sale  of  anything,  such  as  drugs  in  the 
dispensary  of  a  hospital,  he  must  not  lessen  or  add  to  the 
fixed  price  at  his  own  judgment. 

4.  He  must  not  exchange  one  thing  for  another.  He  is 
more  blameworthy  if  this  transaction  takes  place  with 
an  externe. 

5.  Lending  anything  is  forbidden.  There  is  a  great 
difference  between  lending  to  a  member  of  the  Community 
or  to  an  outsider. 

6.  The  Religious  must  not  remit  a  debt  on  his  own 
authority.  For  instance,  if  he  is  in  receipt  of  an  allowance 
from  his  parents,  he  has  no  right  to  authorize  its  discon- 
tinuance. 

7.  If  anything  given  him  for  his  own  use,  or  for  which 
his  office  renders  him  responsible,  is  lost,  either  by  himself 
or  through  his  fault,  it  is  a  sin  against  poverty.  A  pro- 
curator, minister,  cook,  or  the  brother  who  is  in  charge  of 
the  linen  may  easily  fall  into  this  fault. 

8.  The  same  may  be  said  concerning  spoiling  anything, 
or  allowing  it  to  be  spoiled.  On  this  point  Fr.  Gautrelet 
remarks  very  sensibly:  "It  often  happens  that  less  care 
is  taken  of  things  in  a  religious  House  than  in  the  world. 
This  ought  not  to  be  so;  for  in  the  world  no  one  else  is  the 
worse  for  a  man's  carelessness,  because  the  things  are  his 
own,  whereas  in  reUgion  he  only  has  the  use  of  them. 
Besides,  do  not  the  religious  state  and  the  vows  one  has 
taken  constitute  an  obligation  to  practise  the  virtue  of 
poverty  more  perfectly  than  in  the  world?  The  man  who 
lets  his  clothes  wear  out  for  want  of  mending,  or  spoils 
them  by  standing  too  near  the  fire  in  winter,  would  be  less 
heedless  if  the  expense  of  purchasing  new  ones  fell  upon  him." 


244  OAT  THE  VOW  OF  POVERTY. 

9.  No  article  belonging  to  a  house  one  is  leaving  must  be 
taken  to  another  house  of  the  Order,  unless  it  be  some- 
thing which  is  usually  provided  for  the  personal,  daily  use 
of  the  Religious. 

10.  Finally,  he  must  not  put  anything  to  a  different 
use  to  that  prescribed  by  the  Superior.  This  may  occur 
when  traveling,  etc. 

Such  are  the  various  acts  implying  possession  which  are 
prohibited  to  every  Religious.  It  will  easily  be  perceived 
that  the  vow  of  poverty  imposes  on  him  incessant  sacrifices; 
in  fact,  the  fervent  Religious  who  is  careful  to  fulfil  punc- 
tually the  promise  he  made  to  God  will  find  himself  con- 
tinually confronted  by  one  or  other  of  the  cases  we  have 
enumerated,  which  hamper  his  independence  and  his 
liberty,  and  compel  him  constantly  to  sacrifice  his  wishes, 
however  lawful,  in  regard  to  his  parents,  to  the  poor,  etc. 
How  salutary  is  this  restraint,  how  useful  this  self-immola- 
tion! By  this  means  the  life  of  the  Religious  becomes  a 
perpetual  holocaust,  and  this  is  the  source  of  innumerable 
graces  for  him.  For  as  it  is  said  of  the  divine  Master  that 
*' being  rich  He  became  poor  for  your  sakes,  that  through 
His  poverty  you  might  be  rich"  (II.  Cor.  viii.  9),  the 
Religious  who  participates  in  an  eminent  degree  in  this 
state  of  poverty  chosen  by  the  adorable  Victim  wUl  receive 
a  far  larger  share  of  His  spiritual  riches  than  that  bestowed 
upon  ordinary  Christians.  Words  can  not  express  the 
wondrous  benefits  which  his  vow  purchases  for  him,  or  the 
divine  favors  lavished  upon  him,  in  return  for  the  sacrifice 
he  makes  of  the  evanescent  pleasures  which  the  worldling 
derives  from  the  possession  of  wealth. 

This  will  appear  more  strikingly  in  the  following  chapters, 
in  which  the  end  and  object  of  the  vow  of  poverty  will  be  set 
forth. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

ON  THE  VIRTUE   OF  POVERTY. 

The  acquisition  of  the  virtue  of  poverty  is  the  object  for 
which  the  vow  of  poverty  is  taken.  It  is  in  order  to  attain 
to  the  possession  of  that  precious  treasure  that  the  Religious 
strips  himself  of  all  that  he  possesses  by  the  vow  of  poverty. 
The  practice  of  this  virtue  is  therefore  something  more 
perfect  than  the  mere  observance  of  the  vow.  The  direct 
object  of  the  latter  is  to  divest  one  of  all  exterior  and 
temporal  goods  in  a  greater  or  less  degree.  The  virtue 
goes  further:  it  thrusts  the  sacrificial  knife  into  the  heart, 
by  prohibiting  all  undue  love  of  temporal  goods.  It  is  the 
virtue  which  Our  Lord  extolled  when  He  said:  "Blessed 
are  the  poor  in  spirit"  (Matt.  v.  3). 

A  virtue  is  not  merely  more  perfect  than  a  vow;  it  also  has 
a  wider  range,  for  one  may  offend  against  the  virtue  with- 
out violating  the  vow,  but  the  vow  can  not  be  violated 
without  offending  against  the  virtue  and  rendering  it  less 
perfect. 

In  like  manner  some  acts  of  the  virtue  are  obligatory 
and  others  are  of  counsel.  In  some  respects  it  has  no 
limits;  it  may  attain  an  heroic  degree  and  become  a  habit 
of  really  sublime  perfection.  This  we  shall  see  in  the 
next  chapter.  A  vow,  on  the  contrary,  is,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  limited,  and  only  embraces  what  is  of  obligation; 
it  reaches  perfection  not  in  itself  but  in  the  virtue  which 
it  is  its  object  to  produce. 

However,  it  must  be  said  that  if  the  vow  is  a  means  of 

245 


246  ON  THE  VIRTUE  OF  POVERTY. 

attaining  the  virtue  which  is  its  aim,  the  virtue,  in  its 
turn,  is  a  means  of  putting  the  vow  into  practice.  Interior 
detachment  from  all  affection  for  temporal  goods  is  of  no 
small  service  in  ensuring  the  fulfilment  of  the  promise 
made  to  God  consisting  in  the  relinquishment  of  all  rights 
of  possession;  and  any  shortcoming  in  the  practice  of  the 
virtue  endangers  the  observance  of  the  vow,  since  if  we 
display  carelessness  in  regard  to  the  end  itself,  it  shows  that 
we  can  not  care  much  for  the  means  of  obtaining  that  end. 

The  virtue  of  poverty  is  to  a  certain  extent  binding  on 
every  Christian.  An  inordinate  love  of  riches,  excessive 
attachment  to  worldly  possessions,  immoderate  fear  of 
losing  them,  would  be  sinful  even  in  a  secular.  The 
obligation  binding  on  the  Religious  is  of  a  far  stricter 
character.  Many  things  that  are  sinful  for  him  are  not 
even  reprehensible  in  persons  living  in  the  world. 

It  may  be  useful  to  mention  the  cases  in  question, 
which  are  five  in  number,  for  the  edification  of  those  who 
are  consecrated  to  God. 

1.  It  would  be  a  sin  against  the  virtue  of  poverty  for 
the  Religious  voluntarily  to  regret  the  loss  of  the  property 
which  was  sacrificed  to  God  by  the  vow  of  poverty,  and 
to  indulge  sadness  on  experiencing  the  want  of  some  article 
or  other  the  use  of  which  she  enjoyed  in  the  world. 

It  must  be  remarked  that  if  this  frame  of  mind  went 
so  far  as  to  engender  a  definite  wish  to  possess  or  to  have 
the  use  of  some  article,  or  to  do  anything  involving  a  sense 
of  ownership,  such  as  lending  or  borrowing  without  asking 
permission  from  the  Superior,  that  wish,  although  im- 
plicit, being  invested  with  the  malignity  of  an  explicit 
act,  would  be  at  the  same  time  an  offence  against  the 
vow  and  against  the  virtue  of  poverty.  Consequently 
it  would  be  necessary  to  specify,  in  confession,  the  ex- 
istence not  only  of  a  fruitless  regret,  but  of  a  definite 
desire. 


ON  THE  VIRTUE  OF  POVERTY.  247 

2.  It  is  a  sin  against  poverty  for  the  Religious  to  keep 
anything  which  he  does  not  need,  even  if  permission  to 
do  so  has  been  granted  to  him;  for  though  the  permission 
exculpates  him  from  a  violation  of  the  vow,  the  offence 
against  the  virtue  remains.  The  monk  or  nun  ought  to 
be  content  with  what  is  necessary.  To  try  to  obtain 
and  keep  superfluities  is  clearly  a  departure  from  the 
spirit  of  the  vow  and  of  the  religious  profession. 

Here,  however,  we  must  call  to  mind  what  Fr.  Gautrelet 
says  on  this  subject:  "When in  discussing  this  point  we 
speak  of  what  is  necessary,  we  must  not  be  supposed  to 
mean  only  what  is  absolutely  and  rigorously  necessary. 
Under  this  term  is  included  whatever  is  befitting  to  the 
religious  state,  and  the  measure  of  suitabiUty  must  depend 
upon  the  nature,  the  Rujes,  the  work  of  the  Order,  the 
degree  of  poverty  professed  in  that  Order,  the  class,  the 
needs,  the  age,  the  position  of  different  individuals.  An 
aged  Religious,  an  invalid,  or  a  Superior,  will  require 
many  things  which  the  other  Religious  can  well  do  with- 
out; a  Benedictine  monk,  for  instance,  may,  without 
prejudice  to  the  virtue  of  poverty,  own  many  things 
which  a  Franciscan  is  forbidden  to  possess." 

3.  It  is  a  sin  against  the  virtue  of  poverty  to  be  unduly 
attached  to  anything,  however  insignificant.  It  is  not  the 
importance  of  the  object  that  makes  the  sin,  but  the  ex- 
cessive attachment  entertained  for  it.  This  irregularity 
may  be  detected  by  the  pleasure  experienced  in  making 
use  of  the  article  in  question,  by  the  dread  of  losing  it, 
or  the  vexation  felt  at  the  idea  of  being  deprived  of  it. 

4.  It  is  an  offence  against  this  virtue  to  allow  the  goods 
of  the  Community  to  be  lost  or  spoiled,  even  if  one  has 
not  the  charge  of  them.  If  they  were  entrusted  to  our 
care,  it  would  constitute  a  direct  violation  of  the  vow.* 

*  An  illustration  will  serve  to  make  our  meaning  more  clear.    A 


248  ON  THE  VIRTUE  OF  POVERTY. 

5.  Finally,  wasting  one's  time  is  an  offence  against 
poverty,  because  the  loss  of  time  is  a  direct  wrong  done 
to  the  Community.  The  Religious  will  do  well  to  examine 
his  conscience  now  and  again  in  regard  to  interior  attach- 
ments to  things  of  which  the  possession  and  the  use  are 
pleasurable  to  him.  As  soon  as  he  perceives  an  attach- 
ment of  this  description,  let  him  beg  his  Superior  to  take 
away  what  is  the  source  of  temptation  to  him,  and  an 
occasion  of  laxity.  But  more  often  than  not  the  Religious, 
unless  he  is  very  fervent,  does  not  perceive  this  failing. 
We  find  the  following  apt  comparison  in  the  works  of 
spiritual  writers:  Just  as  we  never  think  about  our  teeth 
being  tightly  fixed  in  our  mouth,  until  one  of  them  has 
to  be  extracted,  so  some  things  which  we  use  are,  as  it 
were,  riveted  to  our  heart,  and  we  only  discover  this  when 
they  are  taken  from  us,  taken  too,  perhaps,  in  no  very 
considerate  manner. 

But  if  the  individual  ReHgious  ought  to  avoid  with 
the  utmost  care  whatever  is  contrary  to  holy  poverty, 
the  Communities  themselves,  that  is  to  say,  those  who 
govern  them,  ought  to  exercise  extreme  vigilance  to 
avert  the  dangers  attending  love  of  comfort,  luxury,  wealth. 
This  is  a  most  important  point;  we  will  not  venture  to 
speak  of  it  ourselves,  but  will  invoke  a  higher  and  holier 
authority.  Let  us  listen  to  the  Venerable  Mere  Emilie 
de  Rodat,  an  exemplary  nun  and  a  woman  of  practical 
good  sense  and  excellent  judgment.  As  her  writings  may 
not  be  within  the  reach  of  all,  we  will  enrich  our  pages 

Religious  notices  that  an  open  window,  being  unfastened  and 
swaying  to  and  fro  in  the  wind,  is  liable  to  be  broken.  He  passes 
on  without  paying  further  heed  to  it,  and  takes  no  steps  to  prevent 
the  damage  which  he  foresees  to  be  imminent.  This  is  a  sin  against 
poverty;  since  he  is  a  member  of  the  Community  he  ought  to 
espouse  its  interests,  and  not  expose  the  Community,  by  his  indif- 
ference, to  a  loss  which  might  have  been  avoided. 


ON  THE  VIRTUE  OF  POVERTY.  249 

with  a  few  extracts  from  them  bearing  on  our  present  sub- 
ject. 

In  a  spiritual  Conference  given  to  the  Sisters,  she  says: 
"Our  Father  Superior  (M.  TAbb^  Marty),  as  you  know, 
has  frequently  expressed  the  wish  that  Our  Lord  would 
preserve  our  Congregation  from  the  misfortune  of  becoming 
rich.  How  truly  my  heart  echoes  that  wish,  and  how 
ardently  I  hope  that  we  may  never  have  ample  funds 
at  our  disposal !  No,  my  Sisters,  wealth  is  not  to  be 
desired  for  religious  Communities;  on  the  contrary,  it 
is  to  be  dreaded.  St.  Paul  says:  For  .  .  .  having  food 
and  wherewith  to  be  covered,  with  these  we  are  content 
(I.  Tim.  vi.  8).  Let  this  ever  be  our  motto.  Riches  are 
an  initial  cause  of  relaxation  of  discipline  in  religious 
Communities,  and  one  can  readily  understand  why;  as 
long  as  an  Institute  is  poor,  the  love  of  work  prevails 
there,  and  it  excludes  a  thousand  temptations  which 
idleness  and  ease  are  apt  to  engender.  With  easy  cir- 
cumstances, under  one  pretext  or  other,  things  are  gradually 
made  more  comfortable;  one  trifling  improvement  is 
thought  to  be  required  for  the  well-being  of  the  Com- 
munity; this  leads  to  another,  and  then  another,  thus 
httle  by  little  a  certain  luxuriousness  creeps  in,  even  in 
providing  for  the  table,  and  how  sad  are  the  consequences 
in  regard  to  order  and  discipline!  On  the  other  hand, 
if  a  Community  has  only  what  is  absolutely  necessary, 
poverty  is  maintained  in  the  arrangements  of  the  house 
and  furniture,  the  clothes,  and  food  of  the  Rehgious; 
and  they,  keeping  more  closely  to  the  spirit  of  poverty, 
are  more  humble,  more  mortified.  That  is  to  some  extent 
a  matter  of  necessity,  you  wiU  perhaps  say.  For  some 
it  may  possibly  be  so,  but  if  so,  it  is  a  happy  necessity; 
and  beheve  me,  we  can  not  do  better  than  pray  almighty 
God  never  to  remove  this  necessity  from  us. 

"At  the  period  of  the  Revolution  of  1793  some  religious 


250  ON  THE  VIRTUE  OF  POVERTY. 

Houses  were  in  a  sad  state,  the  Rules  were  relaxed,  and 
more  than  one  instance  of  scandal  occurred  at  that  un- 
happy time.  How  came  this  to  pass,  my  dear  Sisters? 
From  the  wealth  those  Communities  possessed;  having 
no  need  to  work  for  their  maintenance,  the  members  of 
those  Communities  had  acquired  habits  of  indolence  and 
dissipation,  they  neglected  the  duties  of  their  state,  they 
fared  well,  even  sumptuously,  and  the  life  they  led  was 
in  no  wise  worthy  of  their  vocation.  Consequently  the 
chastisements  of  Heaven  fell  upon  them.  There  is  no  fear 
that  we  should  go  to  such  lengths,  I  hear  you  say.  Ah^ 
my  Sisters,  I  am  not  so  sure  of  what  we  might  not  do,  if 
we  were  so  unfortunate  as  to  become  rich;  I  can  not  say 
that  we  should  not  grow  lax  in  the  practice  of  holy  pov- 
erty. A  change  such  as  I  speak  of  does  not  come  all  at 
once;  laxity  creeps  in  by  degrees,  insensibly.  The  Re- 
ligious begin  by  indulging  the  wish  to  have  their  habits 
made  of  less  coarse  material;  some  mitigation  of  the  Rule 
in  this  respect  is  asked  for;  their  clothes,  their  shoes  are 
made  rather  better.  The  coarse  linen  which  was  in  use  at 
first  is,  they  say,  unsuitable  for  weak  and  delicate  constitu- 
tions; the  furniture  is  said  to  be  superannuated,  of  a 
ridiculous  shape,  and  uncomfortable;  that  it  really  costs 
more  constantly  to  renew  the  whitewash  on  the  walls  than 
to  have  them  simply  papered,  and  so  on ;  thus  first  for  one 
reason,  then  for  another,  some  trifling  modification  is  sug- 
gested, those  who  wish  to  introduce  them  never  reflecting 
that  one  change  always  calls  for  another,  and  that  if  water 
slowly  filters  into  a  wall  drop  by  drop,  the  wall  at  last 
crumbles  and  falls.  The  trifling  wants  one  creates  for 
one's  self  mount  up  almost  imperceptibly,  slowly  but 
surely.  Many  things  which  at  the  outset  could  easily  be 
dispensed  with,  later  on  become  necessary,  indispensable, 
so  that  the  unfortunate  Superior  finds  herself  confronted 
by  the  unpleasant  alternative  of  either  yielding  to  the 


ON  THE  VIRTUE  OF  POVERTY.  251 

demands  of  her  subjects,  or  giving  rise  to  discontent,  com- 
plaining, murmuring.  Going  on  at  this  rate,  what  would 
one  come  to?  Alas,  it  comes  to  this:  that  nuns  nowadays 
do  not  deserve  the  name,  so  different  are  they  to  their 
predecessors  or  even  to  what  they  formerly  were." 

Mere  Emilie,  with  a  sagacity  which  nothing  escapes,  pro- 
ceeds to  expound  to  the  Sisters,  by  entering  more  into 
detail,  how  laxity  in  regard  to  poverty  gradually  gains 
groimd,  and  ends  by  entering  into  everything. 

"One  Sister  will  say  that  if  the  habit  she  is  wearing  is 
too  shabby,  too  much  patched,  if  her  shoes,  her  girdle,  her 
veil  are  too  much  rubbed  and  worn,  her  pupils  will  remark 
upon  it;  or  if  she  is  not  cloistered,  that  it  is  disrespectful 
toward  the  people  hving  in  the  world  with  whom  her 
duties  bring  her  into  contact  to  enter  their  presence  in  so 
disreputable  a  condition;  therefore  she  begs  the  Sister  in 
charge  of  the  wardrobe  to  give  her  something  better;  then 
others  who  are,  or  consider  themselves  to  be,  in  similar 
circumstances,  express  the  same  wish,  and  if  that  wish  is 
not  complied  with  they  complain  that  preference  is  shown 
to  some,  and  this  opens  the  door  to  another  abuse.  It  is 
the  same  with  many  other  matters  which  appear  trivial, 
but  which,  in  my  opinion,  are  far  from  being  unimportant, 
by  reason  of  the  inevitable  consequence  that  must  ensue 
from  them. 

"The  Sisters  who  are  set  over  any  department  ought  to 
be  on  their  guard  in  this  respect,  since  any  weakness  on 
their  part  might  lead  to  no  slight  relaxation  of  discipline. 
If,  for  instance,  the  Sister  in  charge  of  the  wardrobe, 
thinking  that  she  ought  to  show  greater  consideration  to 
the  Superior,  her  Assistant,  or  the  senior  Sisters,  makes 
their  habits  a  better  shape,  or  uses  finer  material  for  them, 
if  she  gives  them  a  larger  or  lighter  veil,  overlooking  the 
fact  that  it  behooves  the  Superior  and  the  senior  Sisters  to 
set  an  example  of  strict  observance  to  the  others,  who  can 


252  ON  THE  VIRTUE  OF  POVERTY. 

tell  to  what  fatal  results  her  well-meant  weakness  may 
lead? 

"If  the  Sister  who  provides  for  the  House,  tempted  by 
having  a  bargain  offered  her,  should  purchase  serge  or 
hnen  of  a  finer  make  than  what  is  prescribed  by  the  Rule, 
she  would  be  introducing  a  change  which  might  in  time 
cause  no  little  laxity.  As  for  me,  I  am  so  thoroughly  con- 
vinced of  the  importance  of  keeping  strictly  to  the  Rule 
in  everything,  of  not  admitting  the  slightest  innovation, 
that  I  would  rather  pay  double  the  amount  for  a  coarse, 
rough  material  such  as  the  Rule  prescribes,  than  buy  a 
smooth  and  fine  one  at  half  the  price.  That  would  indeed 
be  false,  nay,  fatal  economy  which  should  introduce  abuses 
and  laxity  amongst  us.  May  God  ever  preserve  us  from 
it!  Even  in  purchasing  the  small  articles  we  have  in 
daily  use,  such  as  a  knife,  scissors,  penholder,  etc.,  we 
must  choose  what  is  most  in  accordance  with  holy  pov- 
erty, remembering  that  it  is  by  almost  imperceptible  steps 
that  we  stray  from  that  safe  path,  and  thus  bring  about, 
or  at  least  prepare  the  way  for,  the  decadence  of  the  Com- 
munity." 

Her  solicitude  for  the  observance  of  holy  poverty  went 
so  far  as  to  lead  her  to  enjoin  upon  the  Sisters  to  put  out 
the  lights  as  soon  as  they  were  not  needed  any  longer;  not 
to  waste  any,  even  the  least  portion,  of  the  aliments  served 
to  them;  nor  to  omit  to  pick  up  any  little  things  which 
had  been  dropped  and  put  them  away  carefully  in  a  place 
assigned  for  their  reception.  In  this  respect  she  set  the 
example  of  such  minute  attention  to  trifling  matters  that 
it  might  be  thought  almost  exaggerated,  unless  regarded 
in  the  light  of  the  supernatural  spirit  of  faith  that  guided 
all  her  actions. 

She  could  not  bear  to  have  more  provisions  than  were 
wanted  in  a  convent,  and  appeared  as  eager  to  get  rid  of 
what  was  superfluous  as  others  might  have  been  to  secure 


ON  THE  VIRTUE  OF  POVERTY.  253 

it,  for  human  prudence  was  abhorrent  to  her,  under  what- 
ever pretext  it  was  disguised.  On  one  occasion,  far  from 
being  cast  down  by  the  accidental  circumstances  which 
disappointed  the  financial  hopes  and  calculations  of  the 
Sister  who  acted  as  minister,  even  in  matters  where  human 
prudence  did  not  come  into  play,  she  spoke  jestingly  of 
them,  and  gave  thanks  to  God  equally  for  failure  as  for 
success. 

The  reader  will  pardon  us  for  having  transcribed  at 
some  length  the  admirable  teaching  of  this  excellent  Re- 
ligious, in  which  the  doctrine  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  the 
Spirit  of  wisdom,  is  clearly  discernible. 


CHAPTER  V. 

ON     THE     DIFFERENT     DEGREES     OF     PERFECTION     IN     THE 
VIRTUE   OF   POVERTY.      THE   FIRST   DEGREE. 

Faithful  observance  of  the  vow  of  poverty  and  the 
strict  practice  of  it  constitute  a  twofold  victory  of  the  vic- 
tim's spirit  of  self-surrender  over  our  human  nature,  so 
perversely  inclined  to  the  possession,  the  love  of  earthly 
things.  But  there  is  yet  another  victory  of  a  far  more 
glorious  character  which  that  sublime  spirit  is  wont  to  win. 
This  we  shall  now  proceed  to  contemplate  and  admire  in 
the  perfect  practice  of  the  grand  virtue  now  under  con- 
sideration. 

We  have  already  been  told  by  Pope  St.  Gregory  that 

the  religious  vow  of  poverty  is  a  real  holocaust.     Now 

the  holocaust,  that  is,  the  sacrifice  in  which  the  victim  is 

wholly  consumed  by  fire,  consisted,  under  the  Old  Law, 

of  a  series  of  ceremonies.     First  of  all  there  was  the 

iimmolation  of  the  victim,  then  the  act  of  flaying  it,  finally 

the  burning  or  consuming  of  the  victim.     In  the  holocaust 

'offered  by  the  Religious,  the  vow  of  poverty  is  the  sacri- 

I  ficial  blade  wherewith  the  victim  is  slain,  but  the  absolute 

and  entire  stripping  of  one's  self  which  forms  the  second 

act  consists  in  the  practice  of  the  vow  in  all  its  perfection, 

or  rather  of  the  virtue  which  prompts  that  practice.     For 

just  as,  after  the  victim  had  beon  flayed,  there  was  nothing 

for  it  but  to  be  conmiitted  to  the  flames,  so  the  soul  which 

[  254 


THE  VIRTUE  OF  POVERTY.  255 

is  truly  and  completely  divested  of  all  that  savors  of  earth 
will  be  forthwith  consumed  in  the  fire  of  divine  charity. 

Such  is  the  condition  imposed  on  the  Religious;  such 
is  the  real  spirit  of  his  holy  profession.  He  takes  the 
vows  and  he  desires  to  attain  to  the  highest  point  of  per- 
fection in  the  virtue  corresponding  to  the  vow  he  has  taken. 
This  truth  St.  Gregory  the  Great  seems  to  imply  when  he 
reminds  us  of  the  circumstances  under  which  the  holocaust 
was  offered:  We  flay  the  victim  when  we  eUminate  from 
the  virtue  what  is  merely  external  and  superficial  and  go 
to  the  heart  of  the  matter. 

Let  us  endeavor  to  rise  to  this  height  of  perfection,  and 
see  what  are  the  steps  whereby  we  must  mount  up  to  it. 

The  first  degree  is  a  fond  affection,  a  supernatural 
esteem,  a  kind  of  enthusiasm  for  the  virtue  of  poverty. 

In  order  to  estimate  it  aright,  one  ought  to  listen  to  the 
raptures  of  the  saints,  the  utterances,  for  instance,  of  the 
Poor  Man  of  Assisi  (thus  he  styled  himself),  that  impas- 
sioned lover  of  poverty,  who,  abounding  as  he  did  in  the 
riches  of  Christ,  found  in  the  embrace  of  her  whom  he 
called  his  lady,  his  bride,  his  beloved,  all  his  joy,  his 
sweetest  consolation,  fife  itself. 

It  is  wonderful  to  see  how  all  the  true  disciples  of  Our 
Lord  loved  that  virtue  which  men  despise  so  heartily. 
Who  amongst  theni  did  not  entertain  for  it  a  special  fond- 
ness, a  loving  predilection,  strange  and  touching  to  behold. 
They  all  regarded  it  with  the  affection  that  thrills  the 
heart  of  a  child  when  he  perceives  his  dearly-loved 
mother.  Why  is  this?  Because  (amongst  other  reasons) 
poverty,  being  the  spouse  of  Jesus  Christ,  is  in  reality  our 
Mother;  we  were  conceived  amid  the  destitution  of  the  crib, 
and  born  amid  the  nakedness  of  the  cross;  because 
poverty  was  the  inseparable  companion  of  the  Redeemer, 
our  adorable  Victim,  throughout  His  sojourn  on  earth.  We 
know  what  was  His  life  in  this  respect  at  Bethlehem,  at 


256  THE  FIRST  DEGREE  OF 

Nazareth,  during  His  public  ministry,  and  that  after  His 
death  He  was  beholden  to  a  stranger  for  a  place  of  sepulture. 
And  is  not  His  presence  in  the  Holy  Eucharist  a  standing 
proof  that  poverty  is  everywhere  and  always  a  virtue  dear 
to  His  Heart?  "  This  is  why  the  saints  who  aspire  to  be 
made  one  with  Jesus  in  His  character  of  a  Victim  invari- 
ably love  poverty  most  fondly. 

There  is  another  reason:  She  is  the  Queen  of  all  the 
virtues,  as  the  Doctors  and  Fathers  of  the  Church  tell  us. 
St.  Catharine  of  Sienna  asserts  the  same  in  her  dialogues, 
or  rather  she  records  the  words  that  God  Himself  spoke  to 
her.  His  spouse.  "  When  once  the  soul  is  attached  to 
poverty,  she  finds  all  the  virtues,  the  graces,  the  sweetness 
and  consolation  that  she  desires.  She  fears  neither  hunger 
nor  privation  because  faith  illumines  her  and  her  hopes  are 
placed  on  Me,  who  am  her  Creator,  the  Giver  of  all  riches; 
and  by  the  care  of  My  providence  all  creatures  have  their 
meat  in  due  season.  Poverty  makes  him  pure  who  em- 
braces it;  it  takes  from  him  the  empty  riches  which  were 
to  him  a  source  of  defilement;  it  induces  him  to  give  wp  the 
society  of  undesirable  companions  and  provides  him  with 
those  that  are  profitable;  it  rouses  him  from  the  stupor 
of  indifference  and  releases  him  from  worldly  troubles; 
it  takes  all  bitterness  from  this  world's  wealth  and  leaves 
the  sweetness;  the  thorns  are  removed  without  the  rose 
losing  any  of  its  beauty.  It  purges  the  soul  from  the 
corrupt  humor  of  unruly  affections  and  encourages  her  to 
feed  upon  virtue,  which  is  sweet  to  the  taste.  It  gives 
him  two  servants  to  do  all  the  work  of  his  house;  they  are 
Love  and  Hatred.  The  hatred  of  vice  and  sensuaUty  puri- 
fies the  soul  from  her  stains,  while  the  love  of  virtue  embel- 
lishes her  by  banishing  servile  apprehension  and  substi- 
tuting for  it  the  peace  which  results  from  a  holy  and  salutary 
fear." 

These  words  addressed  by  Our  Lord  to  His  illustrious 


THE  VIRTUE  OF  POVERTY.  257 

servant,  and  the  hopes  they  evoke,  are  the  consolation  and 
joy  of  the  saints.  This  explains  their  intense  love  for  holy 
poverty. 

Why,  I  ask  again,  is  this  so?  Because  poverty  entitles 
one  to  the  possession  of  celestial  bliss.  It  is  a  pledge  and 
foretaste,  an  earnest  of  eternal  felicity.  He  who  is  Truth 
itself  has  said:  "Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit,  for  theirs 
is  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  Blessed,  blessed  a  thousand 
times  are  they,  even  in  this  land  of  exile!  The  French 
have  a  homely  proverb:  As  happy  as  a  poor  man.  The 
fervent  Religious  who  loves  poverty  and  practises  it 
knows  how  great  is  the  interior  happiness  and  content 
which  it  produces.  How  could  this  be  otherwise,  since 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  his?  "The  love  of  poverty,*' 
says  St.  Bernard,  "is  more  than  a  virtue;  it  is  a  beatitude, 
the  first  and  foremost  of  beatitudes.  To  the  other  virtues 
great  things  are  promised,  but  to  this  one  the  possession  of 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  given,  not  promised,  for  already 
in  this  world  it  is  given  to  it." 

Why,  0  Christian  soul,  you  who  are  a  Religious,  should 
you  not  possess  this  happiness  whilst  still  on  earth? 
Why  not  mount  up  to  this  height  of  bliss,  this  ineffable 
and  supreme  joy?  By  becoming  really  poor,  you  will 
attain  this  happiness  that  the  saints  enjoyed;  you  will 
make  your  own  those  riches  which  rust  and  moth  do  not 
consume,  which  thieves  do  not  steal,  if  you  entertain  a 
supreme,  an  absolute  contempt  for  the  despicable,  the 
worthless  treasures  of  earth.  I  beseech  you,  for  the  sake 
of  your  own  peace,  your  own  joy,  be  poor,  poor  in  reality, 
poor  in  spirit.  And  if  you  do  not  as  yet  experience  the  ar- 
dent, enthusiastic  affection  for  this  celestial  virtue  whereby 
the  saints  were  animated,  inebriated,  make  it  the  object 
of  your  most  fervent  prayers  to  obtain  it.  In  your  medi- 
tations search  out  the  most  powerful  motives  for  desiring 
it;  appeal  to  the  Heart  of  Jesus,  poor  in  the  crib,  poor  on 


258  THE  VIRTUE  OF  POVERTY. 

the  cross,  poor  at  all  times  and  in  all  places;  appeal  to 
the  heart  of  Mary,  also  a  friend,  a  lover  of  this  queenly- 
virtue;  appeal  to  the  heart  of  Joseph,  the  poor  and  lowly 
artisan  of  Nazareth;  call  upon  the  saints,  entreat  them 
to  give  you  the  grand,  the  glorious,  the  gladsome  spirit 
of  poverty.  Let  your  petitions  be  accompanied  by  a 
practical  good  will;  set  yourself  to  work  with  caution  and 
prudence.  See  that  you  keep  your  vow;  beware  of  break- 
ing the  promise  made  to  God  and  of  sinning  against  the 
virtue;  aim  at  attaining  by  degrees  to  the  perfection  of 
your  vocation  as  one  of  Christ's  poor,  to  be  the  poor 
servant,  the  poor  spouse  of  your  crucified  Lord.  Remem- 
ber that  this  is  the  means  whereby  you  may  enter  into 
possession  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  whilst  still  in  this 
valley  of  tears.  Beati  pauperes  spiritu,  quoniam  ipsorum 
est  regnum  codorum. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

ON  THE  SECOND  AND  THIRD  DEGREES  OF  THE  VIRTUE 
OF  POVERTY. 

The  first  degree  of  perfection  in  the  virtue  of  poverty 
is,  as  we  have  seen,  a  fond  and  ardent  affection  for  it. 

The  second  consists  in  the  care  with  which  we  choose, 
even  in  necessary  things,  what  is  most  worthless  and  old, 
what  is  poorest,  in  a  word.  To  be  content  with  what 
is  strictly  and  absolutely  necessary  is  simply  an  act  of 
the  virtue  of  poverty;  but  to  wish,  even  in  regard  to 
necessaries,  only  to  have  what  is  worst  and  poorest,  this 
is  the  virtue  in  its  perfection. 

Now  this  vigilant  care,  this  loving  desire  for  poverty 
in  its  perfection,  ought  to  embrace  everything:  our  room, 
furniture,  clothes,  the  things  in  daily  use,  and  our  food. 
The  least  commodious  cell — furniture  consisting  of  what 
is  old  and  well  worn  (so  long  as  it  can  still  be  used),  thread- 
bare and  patched  clothes,  articles  in  daily  use  of  the  sim- 
plest and  commonest  description,  poor  and  common  food 
— ^what  a  handful  of  treasures ! 

Let  us  never  forget,  that  in  virtue  of  our  vow,  of  the 
spirit  of  poverty,  we  are  really  and  truly  poor.  If  we 
see  a  beggar  go  by,  let  us  say  to  ourselves  in  all  sincerity: 
I  am  worse  off  than  that  mendicant.  He  may  become 
a  rich  man,  but  I  never  can;  he  is  not  bound  to  love 
poverty  in  a  practical  manner  as  I  am.  He  may  possess 
things  and  dispose  of  them  at  will,  but  I  can  not;  if  he 
is  content  with  the  necessaries  of  life,  surely  I  ought  to 

259 


260         THE  SECOND  AND  THIRD  DEGREES  OF 

be!  If  he  meets  with  a  refusal  when  he  asks  for  a  piece 
of  bread  as  an  akns  when  he  is  hungry,  he  goes  away, 
conscious  that  he  can  not  claim  it  as  his  right,  and  ought 
I  to  be  surprised  and  annoyed  if  occasionally  something 
which  I  fancy  to  be  necessary  is  denied  me? 

Holy  poverty,  destitution,  indigence!  A  state  worthy 
of  envy;  may  it  please  almighty  God  to  give  us  grace  to 
taste  its  sweet  savor! 

We  ought  to  desire  what  is  most  consistent  with  poverty 
in  what  is  necessary,  to  delight  in  it,  both  in  health  and 
in  sickness,  whether  we  are  in  the  lowest  place  or  are  raised 
to  an  important  and  responsible  post. 

In  the  time  of  sickness,  the  temptation  to  depart  from 
this  resolution  is  great;  we  are  naturally  anxious  about 
our  health,  we  have  an  instinctive  dread  of  disease  and 
death.  The  sick  man  fancies  that  if  he  could  have  some 
special  remedy,  if  he  could  have  more  done  for  him,  or 
the  advice  of  one  particular  doctor,  it  would  be  an  im- 
mense relief  to  him.  He  deludes  himself,  for  alas!  it 
too  often  happens  that  a  Religious,  exemplary  enough  until 
then,  will  in  a  short  time  lose  in  sickness  the  virtue  he 
gained  when  in  health.  The  author  of  the  Imitation  says : 
''Few  are  improved  by  sickness:"  Pauci  ex  infirmitate  me- 
liorantur;  and  it  is  a  fact  well  known  in  monasteries  that 
sickness  is  a  test  whereby  may  be  gauged  the  amount  of 
virtue  acquired  by  the  monk  or  nun  in  health. 

It  behooves  Religious  also  to  take  pleasure  in  having 
about  them  whatever  is  most  poor  and  mean,  even  when 
they  hold  offices  and  fill  posts  of  authority.  If  Superiors 
are  animated  by  such  sentiments  their  example  is  a  source 
of  the  greatest  blessings  to  the  Community.  The  descrip- 
tion of  the  cell  occupied  by  the  excellent  nun  whose  utter- 
ances concerning  poverty  were  quoted  in  the  aforegoing 
chapter  is  such  as  would  put  to  shame  many  a  modern 
Superior. 


THE  VIRTUE  OF  POVERTY,  261 

Although  she  was  the  Mother-General  of  a  wide-spread 
Congregation,  her  biographer  tells  us  that  her  room  was 
almost  devoid  of  furniture,  and  what  there  was  betokened 
the  most  abject  poverty.  She  had  neither  table  nor  desk, 
and  generally  wrote  upon  her  lap,  or,  sitting  upon  the 
floor,  employed  a  broken  chair  as  a  writing-desk.  Her 
pens  and  paper  were  kept  in  an  old  pasteboard  box. 
Everything  else  was  in  harmony;  her  jug  and  basin  were 
of  the  cheapest,  commonest,  brown  earthenware;  she 
did  not  allow  herself  a  glass  to  drink  out  of,  and  the  two 
religious  pictures — one  of  St.  Genevieve,  the  other  of 
St.  Benedict  Labre — which  alone  adorned  the  walls  were 
in  so  tattered  a  condition  that  the  Sisters  had  thrown 
them  aside  as  no  longer  serviceable.  Her  crucifix  also, 
which  she  invariably  held  clasped  to  her  breast  at  night, 
was  such  as  no  one  else  would  have  retained. 

Wondrous  indeed  is  the  poverty  of  the  saints!  Their 
pious  excesses  call  for  our  admiration,  and  to  a  certain 
extent  for  our  imitation. 

The  third  degree  of  poverty  is  still  more  perfect  than 
the  second.  It  consists  in  rejoicing  in  the  want  even  of 
necessaries. 

To  want  even  the  bare  necessaries  of  life  is  the  highest 
delight  of  God's  elect.  Our  Lord  said :  "  The  foxes  have 
holes,  and  the  birds  of  the  air  nests,  but  the  Son  of  man 
hath  not  where  to  lay  His  head."  At  the  sight  of  their 
King  reduced  to  such  an  extremity.  His  saints,  His  loyal 
subjects,  His  devoted  friends,  long  to  share  His  divine 
destitution.  To  be  wanting  in  necessaries  because  of  the 
extreme  poverty  of  the  House,  to  have  scanty,  uncom- 
fortable quarters,  to  be  unprovided  with  warm  clothes  to 
protect  one  from  the  cold,  to  be  short  of  necessary  furni- 
ture and  of  the  utensils  indispensable  for  daily  use,  be- 
cause the  money  to  purchase  them  is  not  forthcoming,  this 
is  a  great  favor  bestowed  by  Heaven,  and  the  period  of 


262         THE  SECOND  AND   THIRD  DEGREES  OF 

want  is  the  time  of  greatest  fervor  in  Communities.  It  is 
a  loving  benediction  given  by  God's  fatherly  hand  at  the 
outset;  and  the  memories  clinging  to  the  initial  stages  of 
the  life  of  a  Congregation  or  Community  are  the  happiest, 
the  sweetest,  the  dearest  to  the  hearts  of  those  who  delight 
in  the  divine  indigence  of  Jesus,  their  Spouse. 

Instances  are  found  in  which  Religious  have  actually 
wanted  bread.  No  doubt  everything  ought  to  be  done 
with  prudence  and  discretion.  It  ill  becomes  poor  sin- 
ners to  reckon,  as  the  saints  did,  on  the  miraculous  succor 
of  their  Father  in  heaven.  Yet  this  miraculous  aid  is 
vouchsafed  as  frequently  in  our  own  day  as  in  the  days  of 
yore. 

To  delight  in  the  want  of  necessaries,  even  when  on  a 
sick-bed,  is  something  closely  akin  to  heroism.  Yet  we  see 
how  the  poor  often  lack  necessaries,  the  indigent  poor  of 
our  large  cities  herded  together  in  some  attic,  the  poor  of 
remote  country  soUtudes,  dwellers  in  some  hovel  on  a 
mountainside,  almost  out  of  the  reach  of  civilization,  and 
are  we  not  poor  like  them,  more  needy  even  than  they 
are? 

St.  Bernard  spoke  of  this  heroic  love  of  poverty  as  of 
something  quite  natural  and  ordinary  in  his  day.  "You 
certainly  may,  if  you  are  ill,"  he  says,  "make  use  of  cer- 
tain medicinal  herbs  which  the  poor  find  salutary;  but 
to  go  far  and  near  to  purchase  drugs  and  dose  one's  self 
with  strange  potions  is  unbecoming  to  the  religious  pro- 
fession, and  contrary  to  holy  poverty.  This  is  what 
worldHngs  do,  and  we  know  that  those  who  worship  their 
/bodies  can  not  be  pleasing  in  Grod's  sight." 
/  To  be  wanting  in  everything  and  to  find  satisfaction  in 
I  this  universal  privation  even  when  sick,  even  on  one's 
death-bed,  is  to  be  truly  united  to  Christ  crucified.  It  is 
u  one  of  the  holiest,  noblest  features  of  the  love  for  Jesus  in 
His  character  of  Victim.    Our  dear  Lord  has  sometimes 


THE  VIRTUE  OF  POVERTY.  263 

deigned  to  set  this  stamp  upon  His  chosen  servants.  Wit- 
ness the  death  of  St.  Francis  Xavier,  in  the  remote  island 
of  San  Chan. 

We  must  not,  however,  neglect  to  add  that  such  sub- 
lime heroism  is  a  very  special  arui  peculiar  grace.  We 
aim  at  union  with  Our  Lord  as  a  Victim,  and  happy  indeed 
would  it  be  for  us  were  His  divine  grace  to  conduct  us  to 
those  delightful  heights  where  union  with  Him  is  made 
perfect;  but  we  must  be  led  by  His  all-merciful  grace, 
not  urged  by  our  own  presumption,  or  that  will  prove  our 
ruin,  and  be  perhaps  the  first  step  on  the  way  of  perdition. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

,    ON  THE   VOW   OP  CHASTITY. 

The  religious  vow  of  chastity  is  the  promise  made  to 
God  not  to  marry,  and  to  keep  from  breaking  the  sixth 
and  ninth  commandments. 

We  say:  The  religious  vow  of  chastity,  not  merely  the 
vow  of  chastity,  because  the  religious  vow  imposes  an 
obligation  which  a  vow  of  chastity  taken  by  a  person  living 
in  the  world  does  not  involve,  the  obligation  of  celibacy. 
And  this  is  why: 

Chastity  is  a  virtue  which  compels  us  to  keep  the  sixth 
and  ninth  commandments.  Even  a  married  person  in  the 
world  could  take  a  vow  of  chastity,  as  thereby  she  would 
only  pledge  herself  to  do  nothing  contrary  to  that  angelic 
virtue.  In  the  same  way,  a  young  person  who  had  no 
intention  to  remain  unmarried,  could  take  a  vow  of  chas- 
tity; she  would  only  be  binding  herself  never  to  offend 
against  chastity.  In  fact  it  is  a  mistake  to  imagine  that 
this  virtue  prohibits  marriage. 

It  is  otherwise  in  respect  to  the  vow  taken  in  religion. 
It  necessarily  implies  the  renunciation  of  marriage,  and 
the  Religious  who  should  be  so  unhappy  as  to  contract 
such  an  alliance  would  break  his  vow  and  commit  a  mortal 
sin.  Besides,  as  may  readily  be  understood,  he  would 
give  shocking  scandal.  It  is  not  necessary  to  explain  this 
any  more;  the  important  point  is  to  specify  the  number  of 
sins  that  the  Religious  would  commit  should  he  have  the 
misfortune  to  infringe  the  sixth  or  ninth  commandment. 

261 


ON  THE  VOW  OF  CHASTITY.  265 

Theologians  agree  in  assigning  to  this  fault  a  threefold 
malignity,  so  that  it  would  be  equivalent  to  three  distinct 
sins,  which  must  be  severally  mentioned  in  confession. 

1.  It  would  be  a  sin  against  the  fair  virtue  of  chastity 
and,  as  we  know,  sins  of  this  nature  can  not  be  said  to  be 
a  light  matter,  and  therefore  if  there  be  actual  consent  of 
the  will,  the  sin  can  not  possibly  be  merely  a  venial  one. 

2.  It  would  be  a  sin  against  the  virtue  of  religion, 
known  as  an  act  of  perfidy,  because  a  promise  made  to 
God  would  be  broken;  in  other  words,  there  would  be  a 
violation  of  the  vow,  and  this  second  sin  would  be  no  less 
heinous  than  the  first. 

3.  It  would  constitute  another  sin  against  that  same 
virtue  of  religion,  a  sin  of  sacrilege,  because  the  Religious 
being  consecrated  to  God  by  virtue  of  his  vow,  every  vio- 
lation of  that  vow  involves  a  profanation  of  something 
sacred.     This  sin  would  be  no  less  flagrant  than  the  others. 

Moreover,  St.  Liguori  is  of  opinion  that  most  probably 
there  would,  in  this  case,  be  a  fourth  sin,  a  grave  sin  against 
charity,  if  there  was  any  danger  of  the  Order  or  Congrega- 
tion being  disgraced  by  the  crime  of  one  of  its  members. 

It  must,  however,  be  remembered  that  we  are  speaking 
of  definite,  voluntary  sins,  not  of  these  morbid  imaginings, 
or  certain  sensual  desires  of  a  humiliating  character 
which,  far  from  being  sinful,  are  an  occasion  of  glorious 
conquest  to  watchful,  careful  souls  who  are  anxious  to 
preserve  intact  the  priceless  treasure  of  purity.  The 
most  eminent  saints  have  experienced  such  trials.  St. 
Paul  complained  of  the  buffets  of  Satan ;  and  in  the  Lives 
of  the  Fathers  we  read  of  a  holy  abbess  named  Sara,  who 
for  thirteen  years  suffered  the  most  violent  stings  of  the 
flesh.  Yet  all,  without  exception,  turned  them  to  profit, 
power,  as  St.  Paul  says,  being  made  perfect  in  their  in- 
firmity. 

Sins  against  the  virtue  and  the  vow  of  chastity  are 


266  ON  THE  VOW  OF  CHASTITY. 

therefore  all  acts,  whether  interior  or  exterior,  that  directly 
violate  the  sixth  or  ninth  commandment,  be  they  sins  of 
thought,  of  desire,  of  word,  or  of  deed.  However  there  are 
also  acts,  both  exterior  and  interior,  which  without  constitut- 
ing an  actual  breach  of  those  commandments  smooth  the  way 
in  the  case  of  a  negligent  Religious  for  that  prevarication, 
and  on  this  account  they  merit  particular  attention. 
Speaking  in  general  they  consist  in  allowing  the  thoughts 
and  senses  too  great  liberty.  We  will  enumerate  them 
succinctly,  but  it  must  be  observed  beforehand  that  the 
acts  in  question  would  be  in  themselves  mortal  sins, 
supposing  that  they  afforded  a  proximate  occasion  of  con- 
senting to  sin  by  thought,  desire,  or  act. 

The  exterior  acts  are : 

1.  Immortification  of  the  eyes.  This  consists  in  im- 
modest glances  at  persons  or  things  suggestive  of  sensual 
thoughts;  in  reading  books  that  are  utterly  irreligious, 
novels,  frivolous  poems,  etc.  "Death  is  come  up  through 
our  windows"  (Jer.  ix.  21),  we  read  in  Holy  Scripture; 
and  the  same  thought  is  expressed  still  more  emphatically 
in  the  words:  "What  is  created  more  wicked  than  an  eye?" 
(Ecclus.  xxxi.  15.)  An  indiscreet  look  may  introduce 
trouble  and  confusion  into  a  soul  till  then  wholly  pure; 
a  frivolous  book  may  be  the  beginning  of  incurable  evils. 
Listen  to  the  advice  Mere  Emilie  gives  on  this  point  to  her 
daughters : 

"Ought  not  the  Religious  who  is  really  faithful  to  her 
vow,  if  she  has  any  sense  at  all  of  her  own  dignity,  ought  she 
not,  I  say,  to  be  afraid  lest  she  should  not  show  sufficient 
respect  for  her  eyes,  I  will  not  say  by  letting  them  rest  upon 
anything  indecorous,  but  even  by  contemplating  with 
satisfaction,  for  instance,  the  beauty  of  some  one  of  her 
own  sex,  without  raising  her  thoughts  higher,  without 
elevating  them  to  God,  who  alone  is  perfect  and  sovereign 
beauty,  beauty  of  which  all  created  loveliness  is  but  a 


ON  THE  VOW  OF  CHASTITY.  267 

feeble  reflection?  And  if  I  ask  of  you  this  reticence  in 
regard  to  women,  even  good  women,  what  modesty,  what 
caution  ought  you  not  to  observe  toward  individuals  of 
the  opposite  sex,  even  while  the  most  solemn  ceremonies 
are  being  celebrated.  Why  do  we  wear  a  veil  if  not  that 
we  may  neither  see  nor  be  seen?  Why  is  our  veil  black 
if  not  to  denote  that  the  bodily  eyes  ought  to  be  closed, 
dead  as  it  were,  to  all  the  things  of  earth,  in  order  that  the 
eyes  of  the  soul  may  be  fixed  more  attentively  on  the  things 
of  heaven,  on  the  things  of  God?  St.  Paul  wished  that 
out  of  respect  for  the  ministers  of  the  sanctuary,  all 
Christian  women  should  have  their  head  covered  with  a 
veil.     What  would  he  not  have  expected  of  a  nun?  " 

2.  Immortification  of  the  hearing.  This,  again,  is 
fraught  with  much  danger.  What  an  amount  of  mischief 
may  result  from  the  gratification  felt  in  listening  to  subtle 
flattery,  the  complimentary  speeches  current  in  society, 
expressions  of  interest  and  affection  couched  perhaps  in 
language  of  too  endearing  a  tone;  from  the  pleasure 
experienced  in  hearing  the  news  of  the  day,  listening  to 
accounts  of  worldly  festivities,  of  the  establishments 
kept  by  great  people,  of  human  friendships,  of  the  marriages 
that  are  arranged,  etc. ! 

Religious  who  are  employed  in  the  education  of  the 
young  ought  to  be  very  careful  not  under  any  pretext 
whatsoever  to  allow  the  girls  they  teach  to  make  all 
manner  of  confidences  to  them,  especially  to  speak  of 
anything  that  troubles  their  conscience.  They  have  not 
the  grace  to  deal  with  such  matters;  that  is  the  prerogative 
of  the  confessor. 

3.  Immortification  of  the  smell.  An  old  Father  once  said : 
"Perfumes  have  an  enervating  effect  and  induce  effeminacy 
of  manners;  they  are  provocative  of  voluptuousness  and 
license."  Those  who  are  truly  chaste  deny  themselves 
the  gratification  derived  from  the  sense  of  smell,  although 


268  ON  THE  VOW  OF  CHASTITY. 

it  certainly  is  not  the  most  dangerous;  however  it  is 
enough  that  scents  should  have  a  sensuous  tendency  to 
make  them  a  forbidden  luxury.  Every  kind  of  perfume 
about  one's  dress,  or  books,  even  flowers  that  have  a 
strong  scent,  are  avoided  as  inimical  to  perfect  purity. 
Such  souls  only  wish  to  run  after  the  odor  of  the  celestial 
ointments;  the  perfumed  incense  of  prayer  alone  has 
attractions  for  them;  they  only  desire  to  bear  about  with 
them  the  good  odor  of  Christ. 

4.  Immortification  of  the  tongue.  There  are  witticisms, 
equivocal  jokes,  exaggerated  expressions  of  affection  and 
fondness  either  written  or  spoken,  worldly  and  profane 
songs,  all  of  which  are  most  unbecoming  on  lips  that  are 
consecrated  to  God  by  the  vows  of  religion,  by  frequent 
reception  of  holy  communion. 

The  venerable  Foundress  of  the  Sainte  Famille  said 
to  her  daughters :  "Let  me  warn  you,  my  Sisters,  never  to 
amuse  yourselves  by  joking,  however  innocently,  with 
persons  of  the  other  sex.  Remember  that  more  than  once 
an  unfavorable  judgment  has  been  formed  of  Religious  on 
account  of  some  flighty  words  or  unguarded  looks;  be 
grave  and  serious  in  your  demeanor  rather  than  lively. 
Be  just  the  same  in  conversing  with  priests;  one  naturally 
feels  more  at  one's  ease  with  them,  and  if  one  is  not  on 
one's  guard,  one  is  more  liable  than  when  in  the  com- 
pany of  seculars  to  allow  one's  self  a  certain  freedom 
which  may  lead  one  to  overstep  the  limits  of  the  profound 
respect  due  to  their  sacred  calling." 

The  maxim  oft  repeated  by  the  saints  when  addressing 
monks  is  well  known :  ''  Let  your  conversations  with  women 
be  infrequent,  brief,  and  guarded." 

5.  Immortification  of  the  sense  of  touch.  This  consists 
in  handling  one's  own  person  needlessly,  in  familiarities  with 
others,  the  childish  habit  of  holding  hands,  or  simply 
touching  the  people  with  whom  one  lives  without  any 


ON  THE  VOW  OF  CHASTITY.  269 

reason,  and  above  all  in  being  too  demonstrative  in  signs 
of  fondness  and  affection.  If  these  acts  arise  from  an 
irregular  attachment,  they  are  capable  of  kindling  a  fatal 
conflagration  in  the  soul.  One  of  the  Fathers  said :  "  There 
is  nothing  more  perilous  than  the  sense  of  touch." 

6.  Immortification  in  one's  general  deportment.  This  is 
displayed  by  a  certain  listless  bearing,  and  attitudes  more 
befitting  the  drawing-room  than  the  monastery.  The 
effeminate,  self-indulgent  Religious  who  allows  himself  to 
be  mastered  by  this  fault  seems  engrossed  in  attending  to 
his  personal  wants  and  bodily  comforts.  In  all  minor 
miseries,  such  as  the  disagreeable  sensation  caused  by  the 
weather,  the  heat,  or  the  cold,  his  one  anxiety  appears 
to  be  to  avoid  suffering  and  discomfort. 

There  is  another  irregularity  included  under  this  head: 
I  mean  manners  and  behavior  which  savor  of  worldliness 
and  vanity,  in  attitudes,  gait,  and  bearing,  the  habit  of 
assuming  easy  postures,  the  very  way  of  putting  on  one's 
clothes.  All  this  is  dangerous,  because  the  motive  whence 
it  arises  is  the  wish  to  be  agreeable  and  to  please:  a  wish 
fatal  to  the  perfection  of  the  virtue  of  chastity.  Some 
individuals  have  a  sort  of  irresistible  craving  to  appear 
always  comme  il  faut,  and  then  instinctively,  almost  with- 
out their  own  knowledge,  these  silly  souls  spare  no  effort 
to  attain  this  childish  object.  What  sorrow  this  must 
cause  to  the  Heart  of  Jesus,  the  loving,  devoted  Spouse 
of  souls !  The  saints  did  not  hesitate  to  call  this  contempt- 
ible anxiety  to  please  one's  fellow-creatures,  by  the  harsh 
term  of  spiritual  adultery  in  one  who  was  consecrated 
to  God. 

Such  are  the  different  exterior  faults  which  may  prove 
highly  detrimental  to  the  vow  and  the  virtue  of  chastity. 

The  interior  acts  are: 

1.  Certain  memories  of  the  past.  The  world  with  its 
business,  its  festivities,  and  its  pleasures  ought  to  be  coin- 


270  ON  :fHE  JDTT  OF  CHASTITY. 

pletely  forgotten.  There  are,  besides,  sins  committed  in 
bygone  days,  the  remembrance  of  which  would  be  fatal, 
if  we  allowed  our  thoughts  to  dwell  on  them.  The  words 
of  St.  Paul  are  true  to  the  letter  here:  ''Forgetting  the 
things  that  are  behind,  and  stretching  forth  myself  to 
those  that  are  before,  I  press  toward  the  mark"  (Phil, 
iii.  13).  That  which  belongs  to  the  past,  says  St.  Augus- 
tine, is  entirely  temporal,  and  consequently  contemptible 
and  unworthy  of  consideration  by  a  soul  that  aspires  to 
the  possession  of  eternal  treasures;  what  lies  before  me 
are  the  virtues  of  my  new  calling  and  the  celestial  glory 
which  will  be  their  reward. 

2.  Some  alluring  images  conjured  up  by  the  imagination. 
Holy  Scripture  expressly  warns  us  against  falling  into  this 
fatal  snare.  ''Set  not  thy  heart  upon  dreams"  (Ecclus. 
xxxiv.  6).  The  imagination  is  an  ignis  fatuus,  a  will-o'- 
the-wisp,  capable  of  leading  the  soul  to  the  brink  of  an  abyss. 

3.  Attachments  of  too  close  and  fond  a  character. 
This  point  merits  special  consideration,  and  to  it  we  shall 
devote  the  following  chapter. 


CHAPTER  VIII, 

ON  CHASTITY   OF  THE   HEART. 

The  soul  of  every  Religious  is  a  victim  consecrated  to 
God.  Now  every  victim  ought  to  be  holy,  pure,  and  spotless 
Under  the  ancient  law,  wherein  everything  was  figurative 
and  symbolical,  the  animal  offered  in  sacrifice  was  to  be 
without  fault  or  blemish.  In  the  Book  of  Deuteronomy 
we  read:  ^'  If  it  (the  animal)  have  a  blemish  or  be  lame 
or  in  any  part  disfigured  or  feeble,  it  shall  not  be  sacrificed 
to  the  Lord  thy  God  "  (Deut.  xv.  21).  And  in  Exodus 
and  Leviticus  the  Lord  insists  on  this  point:  "  The  victim 
shall  be  a  lamb  without  blemish.''  Our  own  common 
sense  shows  us  the  reason  of  this  rule,  but  it  has  besides  a 
mystical  meaning,  prophetical  of  the  future  and  indicating 
the  qualifications  indispensable  in  the  spiritual  victims 
which  at  a  later  period  would  be  offered  to  God. 

Jesus  Christ  is  the  Great  Victim,  the  one  only  Victim 
which  the  victims  of  the  Old  Law  prefigured.  We  read 
that  "  Him  whom  the  Father  hath  sanctified  "  (John  x.  36) ; 
aiid  when  the  angel  announced  His  Incarnation  to  Mary, 
he  calls  Him  holy  by  way  of  distinction:  "  The  holy  One 
which  shall  be  born  of  thee." 

Now  Jesus  draws  many  souls  into  union  with  His  sacri- 
fice. All  Christians  are  called  to  this  union,  but  those 
who  are  virgins  are  united  to  Him  by  a  special,  a  closer 
bond.  St.  Jerome  says:  '*  Our  virginity  is  preeminently 
the  victim  we  olfer  to  Christ."     And  since  virgin  souls, 

271 


272       ON  CHASTITY  OF  THE  HEART. 

unlike  the  victims  of  olden  times,  who  were  dragged  by 
force  to  the  altar  of  sacrifice,  immolate  themselves  volun- 
tarily, and  thus  resemble  Our  Lord  who  *'  was  ofifered  be- 
cause it  was  His  own  will"  (Is.  liii.  7),  virgin  souls  are 
justly  called  the  priests  who  officiate  at  the  sacrifice  of 
themselves.  Hence  St.  Ignatius  the  Martyr  said:  "Hold 
those  amongst  you  in  high  esteem  who  live  a  virgin's  fife, 
for  they  are  the  priests  of  Jesus  Christ." 

What  an  honor  is  this  for  these  privileged  souls!  And 
what  a  rich  source  of  blessings,  provided  they  are  faithful 
to  grace,  that  is  to  say,  if  their  intention  is  pure,  their 
spirit  of  sacrifice  holy,  and  the  victim  without  blemish, 
so  that  the  holocaust,  according  to  the  words  of  Holy 
Scripture,  may  be  of  a  sweet  savor  before  God! 

The  important  point  is  this:  that  sanctity  and  purity 
should  be  the  characteristics  of  the  victim.  Now  the  vow 
of  chastity,  if  it  be  kept  inviolate,  is  what  gives  to  the 
soul  of  the  Religious,  the  true  victim  of  God,  these  essen- 
tial characteristics.  In  the  preceding  chapter  we  have 
shown  what  the  initial  purification  ought  to  be:  the 
Religious  ought  to  avoid  with  the  utmost  solicitude,  not 
only  what  would  be  a  direct  and  voluntary  stain,  but  even 
every  frame  of  mind,  every  act  which  might  lead  to  it; 
and  if  he  is  careful  not  to  grow  slack  in  the  exercise  of  this 
vigilance,  his  life  will  abound  in  occasions  of  sacrifice  and 
he  will  fulfil  the  sacrificial  functions  conferred  on  him; 
in  body  and  soul  he  will  become  the  "  living  sacrifice,  holy, 
pleasing  unto  God,"  of  which  St.  Paul  speaks.  Yet  there 
is  a  further  height  of  perfection  to  be  climbed,  a  more 
perfect  sacrifice  to  be  offered :  the  immolation  of  the  heart 
itself,  of  its  affections,  its  inclinations,  of  its  least  and 
lightest  pulsation  which  might  sully  the  angelic  purity 
which  ought  to  adorn  it  in  God's  sight.  The  reader  will 
remember  the  words  St.  Francis  of  Sales  addressed  to 
a  postulant  for  admission  into  the  Visitation:    "I  must 


ON  CHASTITY  OF  THE  HEART,  273 

needs  tell  you  that  you  are  now  dead  to  the  world  and 
the  world  is  dead  to  you.  That  is  the  first  stage  in  the 
holocaust.  There  yet  remains  to  flay  the  victim  by  strip- 
ping your  heart  of  itself,  cutting  off  ruthlessly  all  that 
recalls  nature  and  the  world." 

Purity  of  the  affections  constitutes  chastity  of  heart. 
The  heart  feels  the  irresistible  need  of  loving,  but  it  must 
only  love  in  God  and  for  God. 

The  objects  on  which  the  Religious  places  his  affections 
are  either  members  of  his  Community,  the  pupils  brought 
up  in  the  House  (if  there  are  any),  or  externes.  Both 
classes  of  persons  ought  to  be  loved  in  God  only.  How 
can  this  be?  We  will  enter  into  more  minute  explanations; 
in  general  what  is  said  on  this  subject  may  be  considered 
as  intended  rather  for  nuns  than  for  monks,  as  it  is  more 
needed  by  them. 

1.  Chastity  of  heart  in  one^s  relations  to  the  Superior. 
At  first  sight  it  would  seem  that  no  warning  is  needed 
here,  since  there  is  no  apparent  peril.  Superiors  hold  the 
place  of  father  or  mother  to  their  respective  Communities; 
it  is  therefore  only  right  that  the  Religious  should  regard 
them  not  only  with  respect,  but  with  love,  a  love  all  the 
more  affectionate  and  heartfelt  because  very  frequently 
the  monk  or  nun  has  no  one  else  to  love  on  earth.  Thus 
to  condemn  that  affection  would  be  unreasonable  and 
unjust;  it  would  be  depriving  souls  consecrated  to  God  of 
one  of  the  dearest  consolations  of  this  Hfe  of  exile,  and 
prohibiting  what,  after  all,  is  a  duty.  However  fondly  we 
may  love  those  who  stand  toward  us  in  the  place  of  God, 
our  affection  will  not  equal  that  of  Our  Lord  when  a  child 
for  His  holy  Mother  and  St.  Joseph.  Yet  our  divine 
Teacher  said  to  His  apostles:  "  It  is  expedient  to  you  that 
I  go; "  and  bibhcal  expositors  tell  us  that  by  these  words 
He  indicated  the  existence  of  something  earthly  in  the 
affection  they  felt  for  His  sacred  humanity. 


274  ON  CHASTITY  OF  THE  HEART, 

Now  if  it  was  needful  for  the  disciples  of  the  divine 
Master,  St.  John  and  St.  Peter,  to  purify  their  hearts  and 
refine  yet  more  the  affection  they  bore  Him,  if  there  was 
a  want  of  faith,  an  admixture  of  human  love  in  that  affec- 
tion, can  we  wonder  that  this  same  element  of  imperfection 
should  be  met  with  in  Religious,  and  that  it  should  be 
requisite  to  retrench,  to  sacrifice  something  in  this  respect? 
In  the  apostles,  it  will  be  understood,  there  was  nothing 
that  could  be  objected  to  in  such  feelings;  whereas  for 
souls  who  can  not  have,  as  they  had,  Our  Lord  in  person 
for  their  Director  and  their  Master,  there  may  be  much 
that  is  undesirable. 

For  instance,  if  a  nun  who  is  attached  to  her  Superior 
loves  her  far  more  on  account  of  the  natural  qualities 
which  render  her  attractive  than  for  any  higher  motive, 
what  will  be  the  result?  In  the  first  place  that  nun  will 
make  no  progress,  since  her  affection,  not  being  super- 
natural, is  destitute  of  merit.  In  the  second  place,  as 
the  lessons  in  perfection  which  she  learns  of  her  Superior 
are  invested  with  no  other  weight  for  her  than  that  which 
her  personal  character  gives  them,  they  will  not  be  accom- 
panied by  grace,  and  one  can  hardly  imagine  that  she 
will  really  profit  by  them.  Finally,  supposing  the  Supe- 
rior is  changed,  what  will  become  of  that  poor  nun?  Is  it 
not  to  be  feared  that  her  externally  correct  conduct  will 
sustain  an  overthrow,  since  it  rested,  not  on  the  immu- 
table basis  of  faith,  but  on  the  frail  structure  of  a  state  of 
things  which  has  suddenly  collapsed? 

We  only  mention  here  what  is  least  reprehensible,  but 
how  many  foolish  thoughts,  how  many  sensuous  pueril- 
ities might  be  enumerated.  The  nun  wants  to  be  always 
with  her  adored  Superior,  she  is  only  happy  in  her  pres- 
ence. She  would  almost  be  willing  to  give  up  her  medita- 
tions and  the  sacraments  for  this  very  earthly  gratifica- 
tion.   And  if,  unfortunately,  the  Superior  lends  herself  to 


ON  CHASTITY  OF  THE  HEART.  275 

this  childish  conduct,  who  knows  how  prejudicial  it  may 
be,  for  would  she  not  expose  herself  to  the  danger  of  arous- 
ing jealousy  in  many  a  heart?  If  several  of  the  Sisters 
take  up  such  fancies,  what  a  loss  of  time,  to  say  the  least! 
And  if  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  Community  are 
infected  by  this  folly,  all  manner  of  irregularities  may  be 
predicted.  Alas,  how  pitiful  is  such  infatuation  among 
the  spouses  of  Our  Lord! 

But  it  may  be  said:  Undoubtedly  what  you  describe  is 
productive  of  much  that  is  pernicious,  but  where  is  the 
virtuous  middle  course  to  be  found?  There  must  be  cor- 
diality, freedom  to  a  certain  extent,  in  one^s  intercourse 
with  the  Superior,  otherwise  there  would  be  no  simplicity, 
no  pleasant  relations,  no  filial  candor. 

The  answer  to  this  is  easy.  Every  one  knows  that  in 
fervent  Communities  these  desirable  dispositions  increase 
in  rectitude  and  in  spirituality,  the  more  the  Religious 
only  see  God  in  their  Superiors.  Then  all  is  tranquil  and 
peaceful,  all  is  pleasant  and  serene  in  their  mutual  rela- 
tions, all  is  firm  and  yet  sweet.  Gentleness,  kindness, 
simplicity,  filial  openness  of  heart  become  the  Christian 
virgin;  they  are  indispensable  to  the  perfection  of  the  life 
she  has  embraced,  but  grace  alone,  the  grace  that  flows 
from  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus,  bestows  those  fair  vir- 
tues. Let  the  nun  frequently  ask  herself:  How  did  Mary 
behave  during  the  twelve  years  she  spent  in  the  Temple? 
How  would  she  have  acted  in  my  place?  What  more 
admirable  than  her  modesty,  her  respect  for  her  Superiors, 
her  simplicity  and  candor  of  soul,  the  sanctity  of  all  her 
affections ! 

Let  Superiors  act  toward  their  subjects  as  we  may 
imagine  that  Anne,  the  prophetess,  acted  toward  Mary; 
and  let  the  subjects  love  their  Superiors  as  Mary  loved 
that  saintly  widow,  who  was,  so  to  speak,  her  Novice- 
mistress  and  her  Superior. 


276       ON  CHASTITY  OF  THE  HEART. 

2.  Chastity  of  heart  in  regard  to  one's  fellow-Religioua 
We  shall  have  to  say  later  on,  in  speaking  of  charity  in 
the  fourth  part  of  this  work,  that  there  is  nothing  more 
sweet  and  attractive,  nothing  holier  in  itself  and  more  con- 
ducive to  sanctity,  than  the  union  of  souls  in  Jesus  Christ. 
When  our  gentle  and  loving  Saviour  is  the  bond  that 
unites  the  hearts  of  men,  they  are  no  longer  dwellers  in 
the  land  of  exile,  they  may  be  said  to  be  already  in  their 
true  countr5^  Happy  the  Community  whose  members 
really  form  but  one  heart  and  one  soul  in  God !  How  true 
are  the  Psalmist's  words:  "Behold  how  good  and  how 
pleasant  it  is  for  brethren  to  dwell  together  in  unity  '' 
(Psalm  cxxxii.  1). 

But,  be  it  remembered,  this  joy,  this  happiness,  this 
interior  exultation  which  is  reflected  even  on  the  counte- 
nance, only  lasts  as  long  as  the  souls  who  enjoy  and  delight 
in  it  grant  no  access  to  the  curse  of  sensuous  friendships. 
It  is  the  bane  of  charity,  it  is  the  evil  which  drives  away 
the  Holy  Spirit,  it  is  the  commencement  of  spiritual  ruin. 
Our  God  is  a  jealous  God;  He  will  not,  He  can  not  tolerate 
in  the  heart  of  His  spouses  the  mere  trace  of  a  love  which 
is  not  for  Him.  How  unhappy  is  the  fate  of  the  thought- 
less, earthl3^-minded  soul,  who,  forgetful  of  her  solemn 
promises  and  the  signal  favor  of  being  entitled  His  spouse, 
gives  way  to  some  ill-regulated  affection  for  a  fellow- 
creature!  How  sad  is  such  a  condition!  How  many 
graces  that  soul  loses  through  her  own  fault!  What  be- 
comes of  that  interior  peace  which,  to  quote  St.  Paul's 
words,  surpasseth  all  understanding?  Of  that  intimate 
intercourse  with  Our  Lord  in  meditation  and  in  commun- 
ion? Of  the  favors  bestowed  by  the  divine  Spouse? 
And  if  we  turn  to  externals,  where  is  the  peaceful,  modest 
composure,  the  punctual,  unfailing  exactitude,  the  appli- 
cation of  heart  and  mind  to  her  daily  work  that  marked 
that  nun?    Does  she  exhibit  in  her  intercourse  with  the 


ON  CHASTITY  OF  THE  HEART.  277 

Sisters  the  same  universal,  invariable  charity  which  forms 
the  true  happiness  of  the  ReHgious? 

Alas !  much  that  is  to  be  deplored  has  found  ingress  into 
the  soul  with  that  fatal  indulgence  which  the  saints  have 
branded  with  the  name  of  sensual  affection,  particular  friend- 
ships. What  a  sad  abuse  of  grace,  portentious  of  future 
sterility  for  the  soul,  impotency  ever  to  rekindle  her  early 
fervor!  For,  we  repeat,  the  divine  Bridegroom  is  jealous; 
when  He  has  withdrawn  from  an  unfaithful  spouse,  words 
can  not  tell  the  efforts  that  have  to  be  made,  the  penance 
that  must  be  done,  the  tears  that  must  be  shed  before  He 
will  return  and  again  rejoice  her  with  His  friendship,  His 
choicest  favors.  His  divine  caresses. 

Let  every  Religious  be  distrustful  of  all  affection  that 
agitates,  disturbs,  distracts  her  heart.  Certainly  she  need 
not  disquiet  herself  about  a  mere  nothing;  but  she  will  do 
well,  as  soon  as  she  is  conscious  of  the  first  sign  of  such 
fondness,  to  disclose  her  feelings  to  a  discreet  and  wise 
confessor.  This  manifestation  of  the  heart,  if  it  be  sim- 
ple, humble,  and  modest,  will  be  the  best  antidote  to  a 
poison  which  may  perhaps  prove  fatal  to  her  spiritual 
life. 

All  that  has  been  said  is  specially  applicable  to  the  case 
of  a  Religious  (the  member  of  a  teaching  Order)  who  con- 
ceives a  warm  friendship  for  one  of  her  pupils.  The  mere 
thought  of  what  the  consequences  of  such  an  affection 
may  be  for  both  teacher  and  pupil  makes  one  tremble. 
The  angel  guardians,  who  weep  over  it,  alone  can  tell  to 
what  lengths  it  may  go,  and  sometimes  has  gone.  What 
a  terrible  responsibility  for  the  Religious  who  is  faithless 
to  her  vocation  to  such  an  extent,  faithless  to  her  mission, 
to  the  graces  lavished  on  her  to  be  employed  in  training 
souls  for  the  service  of  God!  Who  can  say  with  what 
severity  the  divine  Spouse  will  treat  that  nun,  whose 
spiritual  children  ought  to  be  holy,  and  whom  she  herself 


278       ON  CHASTITY  OF  THE  HEART. 

perverts,  by.  foolish  fondling,  by  indulgences  and  favors  of 
a  worldly,  frivolous  description  verging  on  what  is  indeco- 
rous? Alas,  the  passions  of  the  young  are  more  quickly  kin- 
dled than  some  of  us  imagine.  Therefore  all  outward  signs 
of  particular  friendship,  given  either  by  hand  or  eye,  must 
be  forbidden.  They  are  never  advisable,  under  any  pre- 
text whatsoever;  and  indulgence  in  them  does  the  work 
of  the  devil  and  of  our  fallen  nature,  not  that  of  Christ 
and  His  grace. 

3.  Chastity  of  heart  in  regard  to  persons  outside  the 
convent.  There  is  not  much  to  be  said  on  this  point, 
because  in  general  the  absence  of  chaste  feeling  would 
argue  a  want  of  delicacy.  Besides,  it  is  obvious  that  if 
carnal  affections  are  forbidden  in  regard  to  the  Superior 
and  the  Sisters,  much  more  would  they  be  forbidden  when 
it  is  a  question  of  seculars.  Some  nuns  are  brought  into 
contact  with  ladies  living  in  the  world  through  the  char- 
itable works  in  which  they  both  take  part.  They  must 
remember  that  very  rarely  can  an  intimate  friendship, 
should  they  form  one,  be  in  Christ  and  for  Christ,  and  they 
must  not  overlook  the  fact  that  their  friends  occupy  a  very 
different  position  to  themselves.  I  can  scarcely  say  that 
it  is  well  for  a  soul  who  is  consecrated  to  God  to  be  on 
very  intimate  terms  with  a  married  woman,  unless  at 
least  they  are  both  no  longer  young.  Friends  become 
confidential;  and  the  confidences  in  this  case  naturally 
relate  to  the  troubles  and  difficulties  attached  to  the  state 
of  life  of  the  friend  who  lives  in  the  world.  No  good  can 
result  from  this,  and  it  may  be  productive  of  much  that 
is  undesirable.  The  soul  who  is  consecrated  to  God  should 
remember  her  whom  she  daily  invokes  under  the  title 
of  most  prudent  Virgin. 

Finally  must  we  mention  the  confessor,  the  director? 
The  confessor  is  the  servant  of  God,  and  in  this  character, 
in  this  alone,  the  nun  holds  intercourse  with  him,  conse- 


ON  CHASTITY  OF  THE  HEART,  279 

quently  she  ought  to  see  in  him  only  God's  representative, 
just  as  the  priest  only  speaks  to  the  nun  as  being  the 
mouthpiece  of  the  Most  High.  She  is  in  want  of  enlight- 
enment, of  consolation,  of  strength;  it  must  be  divine 
enlightenment,  divine  consolation,  divine  strength  that 
she  asks  and  expects  from  the  ministry  of  the  priest.  She 
can  not  fail  to  feel  grateful  to  him  for  the  help  he  has 
afforded  her;  but  this  gratitude  must  not  rest  in  the 
instrument,  but  rise  upward  through  him  to  God,  the 
only  Giver  of  all  good.  Thus  nothing  useless  passes  be- 
tween them,  no  time  is  wasted;  all  their  intercourse  is 
profitable  both  for  the  director  himself  and  the  soul 
whom  he  directs.  When  St.  Teresa  and  St.  John  of  the 
Cross  met  together  in  the  parlor,  to  converse  upon  spiritual 
subjects,  they  were  both  seen  to  be  raised  from  the  ground, 
rapt  in  ecstasy.  This  example  should  ever  be  borne  in 
mind.  We  certainly  must  not  expect  the  grace  of  ecstasy; 
but  the  intercourse  between  the  nun  and  her  spiritual 
Father  ought,  like  that  of  St.  Teresa  and  St.  John,  to  be 
all  for  God  and  in  God,  whether  in  the  confessional  or  in 
the  parlor.  O  my  God!  vouchsafe  to  give  ever  more 
and  more  of  this  celestial  spirit  to  Thy  priests  and  Thy 
spouses! 


CHAPTER  IX. 

ON  THE  ENCLOSURE  AND  THE  SPIRIT  OF  THE  CLOISTER. 

The  enclosure  is  one  of  the  chief  blessings  of  the  re- 
ligious life,  one  of  the  chief  causes  of  rejoicing  to  the  soul 
who  appreciates  the  graces  of  her  vocation.  In  the  de- 
signs of  holy  Church,  it  was  estabhshed  mainly  to  safe- 
guard the  chastity  of  those  who  were  consecrated  to  God 
by  vow.  This  is  the  reason  why  we  introduce  this  subject 
here  immediately  after  having  spoken  of  the  vow  of 
chastity. 

But  the  enclosure,  although  instituted  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  that  priceless  treasure,  is  the  source  of  a  multitude 
of  other  blessings.  It  is  also  the  safeguard  of  silence, 
of  simplicity,  of  mutual  charity,  of  the  spirit  of  prayer,  of 
interior  peace,  of  union  with  God,  which  is  all  the  more 
easily  obtained  the  more  the  soul  isolates  herself  from 
the  world  and  its  vain  delights.  By  means  of  the  enclos- 
ure the  monastery  is  really  the  "garden  enclosed"  wherein 
the  Beloved  celebrates  with  His  spouse  the  spiritual  nup- 
tials which  are  the  earnest  of  the  eternal  espousals;  it  is 
also  the  true  earthly  paradise,  at  the  gate  of  which  the 
cherubim  keep  watch  with  jealous  vigilance,  to  prevent 
the  approach  of  intruders. 

From  another  point  of  view,  this  law  of  the  Church  in 
regard  to  Religious  recalls  to  mind  what  was  customary 
in  olden  times  under  the  Old  Dispensation.  The  victim 
that  was  to  be  offered  and  slain  for  sacrifice  was  separate 


ENCLOSURE  AND  SPIRIT  OF  THE  CLOISTER.  281 

from  the  rest  of  the  flock  and  kept  apart.  From  that 
time  forth  it  could  not  be  put  to  any  secular  use;  it  would 
have  been  a  sacrilegious  act  to  employ  it  otherwise  than 
in  the  service  of  God.  No  one  was  allowed  to  touch  it, 
except  the  priest  whose  office  it  was  to  immolate  it  as  a 
holocaust  to  the  Lord. 

In  like  manner  the  Religious  is  entirely  isolated  from 
the  world  and  all  the  things  of  the  world  by  the  enclosure; 
and  in  the  seclusion  of  the  cloister  the  soul  surrenders 
herself  continually,  unseen  by  all  but  God,  to  His  good 
pleasure,  for  love  of  Him  and  for  His  greater  glory.  No 
one  interferes  with  her,  for  she  is  dedicated  to  God. 
Neither  relatives  nor  friends  are  allowed  to  distract  her 
attention  from  God,  or  fill  her  mind  with  worldly  matters. 
She  is  laid  upon  the  altar  of  sacrifice,  and  there  she  will 
remain,  at  one  and  the  same  time  the  priest  and  victim 
of  the  oblation  she  untiringly  offers  to  Him  who  is  her 
AU  in  all. 

One  can  understand  why  good  Religious  love  the  enclos- 
ure intensely,  almost  passionately.  Without  the  monas- 
tery walls  they  feel  out  of  their  element,  they  miss  the 
air  which  is  the  breath  of  life  to  them;  and  well  for  them 
that  it  is  so,  for  thus  they  are  kept  from  many  faults. 
Doubtless  this  love  of  the  cloister  ought  not  to  detract 
from  their  zeal  and  fidelity  in  performing  the  works  which 
charity  or  obedience  require  of  them;  but,  far  from  this, 
it  does  just  the  contrary.  It  gives  strength  and  con- 
stancy to  their  zeal  and  fidelity,  adding  to  their  super- 
natural character  and  at  the  same  time  sanctifying  the 
works  of  which  they  are  the  source.  The  Religious 
betakes  himself  to  those  works  with  greater  modesty, 
humility,  prudence,  with  closer  union  with  God,  and 
consequently  all  that  he  does  is  attended  with  a  richer 
blessing  and  more  profit  both  for  the  souls  of  others  and 
for  himself. 


282  ENCLOSURE  AND  SPIRIT  OF  THE  CLOISTER. 

It  is  the  same  with  the  cloistered  nun.  When  she  has 
to  present  herself  at  the  grating,  it  is  a  real  sacrifice  that 
is  required  of  her;  and  well  for  her  if  she  feels  acutely 
that  it  is  a  sacrifice,  for  that  is  a  great  grace  vouchsafed 
to  her. 

But  because  actual  enclosure  can  not  rightly  be  said  to 
appertain  to  the  essence  of  the  religious  life,  while  the 
spirit  of  enclosure  is  essential  to  the  perfection  of  that 
life,  many  Institutes  are  not  enclosed,  owing  to  their 
members  engaging  in  active  works.  Yet  what  we  have 
to  say  will  not  be  useless  for  them.  They  will  see  what 
holy  Church  intends  by  the  Rule  of  enclosure,  and  our 
explanations  as  to  what  is  prescribed  by  it  can  not  fail  to 
be  profitable  for  them;  moreover  the  spirit  of  enclosure, 
which  is  necessary  both  for  Orders  that  are  enclosed  and 
those  that  are  not,  will  thereby  be  strengthened  and 
increased. 

We  can  at  any  rate  only  give  a  few  general  details  about 
this  Rule,  as  what  is  special  to  each  Order  will  be  found 
in  its  Constitutions. 

There  is  enclosure  for  men  and  enclosure  for  women, 
the  latter  being  naturaUy  much  more  strict. 

What  is  called  the  law  of  enclosure  is  a  law  issued  by 
the  Church  forbidding  outsiders  to  enter  the  cloister  of  a 
Religious  House,  and  forbidding  the  inmates  to  leave  it. 
This  law  has  been  confirmed  and  expoimded  by  the  Council 
of  Trent  and  several  successive  Popes. 

There  is  an  immense  difference,  the  reason  of  which  must 
be  apparent  to  every  one,  between  the  enclosure  of  Com- 
munities of  men  and  Communities  of  women.  The  lattei 
is  always  very  much  stricter;  in  fact,  there  is  no  Ordei 
of  men  so  strictly  cloistered  as  are  the  Carmelite  nuns, 
the  Poor  Clares,  the  Trappistines,  etc.  The  law  of  en- 
closure for  men  only  prescribes,  in  general,  two  rules  to 
be  observed. 


ENCLOSURE  AND  SPIRIT  OF  THE  CLOISTER.  283 

1.  Women  are  prohibited,  under  pain  of  excommunica- 
tion, from  entering  the  enclosure  of  men  under  any  pre- 
text whatsoever.  Superiors  or  other  ReHgious  who  should 
admit  them  would  incur  grievous  penalties,  such  as  depri- 
vation of  their  office,  etc. 

2.  No  Religious  (no  monk,  that  is)  may  go  out  of  his 
monastery  without  permission  from  his  Superior.  The 
Constitutions  of  Pope  Clement  VIII.  on  this  point  run 
thus: 

*'  Let  no  monk  ventiu-e  to  leave  his  convent  unless  for 
some  good  reason  and  after  having  each  time  obtained 
permission  from  his  Superior,  who  ought  not  to  concede 
it  until  he  has  satisfied  himself  as  to  the  justice  of  the  peti- 
tioner's motive  and  assigned  to  him  a  companion.  This 
sodus  is  to  be  chosen  not  by  the  Religious  himself,  but 
by  the  Superior,  who  will  take  care  not  to  select  the  same 
individual  too  often.  A  general  permission  to  go  out 
must  never  be  given  to  any  one  Religious." 

No  more  need  be  said  concerning  the  enclosure  in  regard 
to  Communities  of  men;  but  we  will  enter  into  some 
details  of  this  law  in  its  application  to  convents  of  women. 
The  decree  of  the  Council  of  Trent  is  as  follows : 

"The  sacred  Council,  in  renewing  the  Constitution  of 
Boniface  VIIL,  commands  all  bishops  under  pain  of  the 
judgment  of  God,  whom  it  takes  to  witness,  and  under 
pain  of  eternal  malediction,  in  virtue  of  their  authority 
over  the  convents  that  are  subject  to  them,  and  as  dele- 
gates of  the  Holy  See  in  regard  to  those  that  are  exempt 
from  their  episcopal  jurisdiction,  to  be  most  careful  to 
reestablish  the  enclosure  of  Religious  women  in  Houses 
where  it  has  been  broken,  and  to  uphold  it  in  its  integrity 
in  all  Houses  where  it  has  been  duly  observed,  desiring 
them  to  rebuke  by  ecclesiastical  censures  and  other  penak 
ties  any  person  who  should  dare  to  disobey  or  oppose 
their  mandate.    No  nun  will  therefore  be  allowed  to  go 


284  ENCLOSURE  AND  SPIRIT  OF  THE  CLOISTER. 

beyond  the  precincts  of  her  monastery,  subsequently  to 
her  profession,  even  for  a  short  time,  under  any  pretext 
whatsoever,  unless  it  be  for  some  legitimate  cause  approved 
by  the  bishop,  despite  any  indult  or  privilege  which  may 
apparently  authorize  her  in  so  doing. 

"Neither  shall  any  individual  of  whatever  birth,  rank, 
sex,  or  age  be  allowed  to  enter  the  enclosure  of  the  monas- 
tery without  a  written  permission  from  the  bishop  or 
the  Superior,  under  pain  of  excommunication  ipso  facto. 
And  that  permission  must  not  be  granted  by  the  bishop 
or  the  Superior  without  necessity,  and  no  other  person 
has  any  power  at  all  to  grant  it." 

From  these  ecclesiastical  decrees  we  learn  that  cloistered 
Rehgious  are  bound,  1.  Never  to  leave  the  precincts  of 
their  convent;  2.  Never  to  admit  any  strangers  into  the 
interior  of  their  convent. 

The  exceptional  cases  in  either  instance  are  provided 
for  by  canon  law,  and  may  also  be  contained  in  the  special 
Constitutions  of  each  Order.  For  this  reason  we  will 
not  discuss  them  here;  but  it  may  be  useful  to  point  out 
the  ways  in  which  a  nun  may  transgress  the  Rule  of  en- 
closure. 

1.  The  obligation  never  to  go  out  of  the  convent.  She 
will  trangress  this  rule  if  she  so  much  as  steps  out  be- 
yond the  limit  of  the  enclosure,  or  the  precincts  of  the 
cloister,  or  by  climbing  up  upon  the  convent  roof.  A 
nun  who  had  received  a  proper  authorization  to  go  out 
would  break  the  rule  by  not  returning  as  soon  as  the  time 
fixed  by  the  dispense  had  expired.  2.  The  obligation  never 
to  admit  outsiders  into  the  convent.  A  nun  would  trans- 
gress this  commandment,  (1)  By  taking  any  one  into  the 
convent  without  the  authorization  of  her  lawful  Superior, 
even  were  it  a  mere  infant;  (2)  By  urging  such  persons 
as  have  been  permitted  to  enter  to  remain  longer  than 
necessity  requires,  or  by  taking  them  where  there  is  no 


ENCLOSURE  AND  SPIRIT  OF  THE  CLOISTER.  285 

occasion  for  them  to  go,  even  under  the  plea  of  charity 
or  devotion.  Thus  if  the  chaplain  should  have  gone  into 
the  enclosure  to  administer  the  sacraments  to  a  sick  Sister, 
he  must  not  go  elsewhere  to  visit  another  sick  Sister 
who  had  not  asked  for  the  sacraments.  (3)  A  nun  whose 
business  it  is  to  see  that  the  doors  of  the  enclosure  are  kept 
locked  would  commit  a  sin  were  she  to  neglect  that  duty. 

Such  are  the  principal  ways  whereby  the  Rule  of  enclos- 
ure may  be  transgressed;  but  a  fervent  Religious  does 
not  confine  herself  to  a  careful  avoidance  of  any  breach  of 
the  Church's  law;  she  endeavors  to  enter  into  the  intentions 
of  our  holy  Mother,  and  strives  to  live  in  perfect  accord- 
ance with  the  spirit  of  the  cloister.  On  that  account  she 
scrupulously  avoids  all  intercourse  with  the  world;  she 
holds  herself  aloof  from  it,  she  keeps  it  at  a  distance,  and 
says  with  St.  Paul:  "The  world  is  crucified  to  me  and  I 
to  the  world"  (Gal.  vi.  14).  The  demands  of  charity, 
of  obedience,  the  occupations  assigned  her,  the  active 
works  in  which  her  Order  engages,  may  perhaps  require 
her  to  mix  to  a  certain  extent  with  secular  persons;  but 
interiorly  she  has  nothing  in  common  with  them.  St. 
Paul  felt  in  this  way,  yet  he  was  no  cloistered  monk. 
Such  sentiments  may  quite  possibly,  in  fact  they  ought  to, 
be  the  habitual  attitude  of  every  soul  who  is  consecrated 
to  God.  The  business  of  the  world,  the  news  of  the  world, 
the  visits  of  the  world,  with  all  of  this  she  has  no  more 
concern  than  if  she  was  dead  and  buried.  Nothing  has 
power  to  touch  or  agitate  her,  or  distract  her  from  her 
calling,  which  is  the  service  of  God  either  by  acts  of  wor- 
ship or  works  of  charity.  Everything  from  outside, 
however  innocuous  it  may  at  first  sight  appear,  is  repugnant 
to  her;  she  regards  it  as  a  possible  danger  for  the  purity 
and  sanctity  which  should  be  hers. 

Let  us  conclude  this  chapter  by  relating  an  incident  out 
of  the  life  of  the  Ven.  Mdre  Emilie,  the  model  nun  of  oiu- 


286  ENCLOSURE  AND  SPIRIT  OF  THE  CLOISTER. 

day,  and  listening  respectfully  to  the  exhortation  she 
addressed  to  her  subjects  on  that  occasion. 

It  was  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution  of  1848.  A  sister 
who  had  chanced  to  hear  the  news,  said  quite  innocently 
the  same  day  at  recreation:  ''We  have  a  republic  now\" 
On  the  morrow,  Mere  Emilie  delivered  an  address  on  the 
subject,  thus  expressing  her  feelings  to  her  daughters: 

''Yesterday  evening,  one  of  our  Sisters,  neglectful  of  the 
spirit  of  the  cloister,  announced  that  we  had  a  republic  now. 
For  this  she  must  humble  herself  and  pray  almighty  God  by 
the  intercession  of  St.  Charles  Borromeo  to  give  her  grace 
to  understand  more  fully  what  the  spirit  of  the  vow  we 
have  taken  requires  of  us,  and  how  completely  indifferent 
we  ought  to  be  to  all  news  of  the  outside  world. 

"How  happy  we  should  be,  my  Sisters,  if  we  could 
always  rest  in  that  state  of  death  to  the  world  which  the 
cloister  inculcates  and  which  we  ought  to  cultivate. 
Nothing  depicts  more  forcibly  the  solitude  of  the  cloister 
than  the  solitude  of  the  tomb,  the  silence,  the  desertion 
of  the  graveyard.  Think  of  a  cemetery,  how  calm,  how 
tranquil  it  is !  The  dead  do  not  disturb  each  other's  repose, 
and  when  the  remains  of  another  is  laid  amongst  them, 
they  inquire  about  nothing,  they  do  not  trouble  themselves 
about  what  goes  on  amongst  the  living,  they  are  silent 
and  motionless,  awaiting  the  solemn  hour  when  the  angel 
of  the  Lord  shall  summon  them  to  appear  at  the  general 
resurrection.  They  are  dead,  and  with  that  everything 
is  said.  And  we  who  are  cloistered  nuns  ought  also  to 
be  dead,  completely  dead  to  all  the  empty  reports,  the 
foolish  interests,  the  false  maxims  of  the  world.  When 
we  left  the  world  to  embrace  the  life  of  the  cloister,  when 
we  laid  aside  our  secular  garments  to  put  on  this  funereal 
dress,  we  made  a  solemn  act  of  renunciation  of  all  the 
things  of  the  world,  the  pleasures  of  the  world,  the  honors 
of   the   world,  the  riches  of  the  world,  the  news  of  the 


ENCLOSURE  AND  SPIRIT  OF  THE  CLOISTER.  287 

world.  When  we  were  clothed  in  the  sacred  habit  of 
religion,  the  priest  of  God,  speaking  in  His  name,  addressed 
to  us  these  sublime  words,  pregnant  with  meaning, 
borrowed  from  St.  Paul:  'You  are  dead,  and  your  life 
is  hid  with  Christ  in  God.  When  Christ  shall  appear, 
who  is  your  life,  then  you  also  shall  appear  with  Him  in 
glory'  (Col.  iii.  3,  4).  If  we  lend  a  willing  ear  to  news 
from  the  outer  world,  if  we  ask  to  have  them  told  us,  we 
show  ourselves  to  be  alive,  we  are  not  really  dead  in  the 
sense  of  our  vow  in  its  perfection;  if  in  the  cloister  we 
indulge  curiosity,  if  we  are  easily  distracted;  if  we  often 
break  the  Rule  of  silence,  again  I  say  we  are  not  really 
dead,  and  our  life  is  not  hidden,  as  it  ought  to  be,  with 
Christ.  In  order  worthily  to  correspond  to  the  solemn 
words  addressed  to  us  at  our  profession,  we  ought  to  fix 
our  mind  only  on  God,  on  the  work  we  have  to  do,  on  our 
sanctification;  we  ought  to  refrain,  for  instance,  from 
questioning  any  postulants  who  may  come  to  us  as  to 
where  they  came  from,  the  circumstances  and  social 
position  of  their  parents,  unless  it  is  necessary  to  do  so; 
the  dead  ask  no  questions ;  let  us  be  like  them  in  the  spirit 
of  faith,  and  in  diligent  pursuance  of  the  perfection  to 
which  we  hope  to  attain." 


CHAPTER  X. 

ON  THE  VOW  OF  OBEDIENCE. 

The  Popes,  the  Fathers  and  Doctors  of  the  Church,  and 
all  theologians  are  unanimous  in  pronouncing  the  vow  of 
obedience  to  be  the  most  perfect  of  the  religious  vows. 
They  also  agree  that  taking  this  vow  and  carrying  it  out 
generously,  constitutes  the  perfection  of  the  state  of 
victim  which  the  Religious  embraces.  The  sacrifice  is 
really  consummated,  nothing  is  lacking  to  the  holocaust. 
The  sacrificial  victim  is  not  only  offered  and  slain,  but,  to 
make  use  of  the  words  of  St.  Francis  of  Sales  which  were 
quoted  above,  it  is  actually  reduced  to  ashes. 

Listen  to  the  witness  of  the  Popes  and  Fathers  of  the 
Church.  St.  Gregory  the  Great,  commenting  on  these 
words  in  the  First  Book  of  Kings  (xv.  22) :  "  Obedience 
is  better  than  sacrifices  "  (the  victims  of  the  Old  Law  are 
here  referred  to),  says:  "Obedience  is  better,  because  in 
ordinary  sacrifices  the  flesh  of  another  is  offered;  but  by 
obedience  one's  own  will  is  immolated." 

Pope  John  XXII.  speaks  yet  more  explicitly :  "  Pov- 
erty," he  says,  *'is  a  very  excellent  thing;  virginity  is, 
however,  a  better  thing;  while  obedience,  if  it  be  faith- 
fully practised,  takes  precedence  of  all  the  rest.  By  the 
first,  one  sacrifices  one's  external  possessions;  by  the  sec- 
ond, one's  body  and  one's  carnal  instincts;  by  the  third, 
one's  heart  and  mind  are  immolated." 

St.  Jerome  also  says:  **  To  give  up  one's  gold  and  silver 

288 


ON  THE  VOW  OF  OBEDIENCE.  289 

is  the  act  of  a  man  in  the  early  stages  of  his  conversion; 
the  heathen  philosophers  did  as  much;  but  to  offer  one's 
self  to  God  is  a  virtue  peculiar  to  the  apostles  and  the 
true  Christian." 

St.  Thomas  says  much  the  same  when  treating  of  the 
religious  vows.  He  declares  obedience  to  be  superior  to 
chastity  for  three  reasons. 

1.  Because  by  the  vow  of  obedience  we  sacrifice  our- 
selves, our  will,  our  judgment; 

2.  Because  by  obedience  we  are  closely  united  to  God, 
our  final  end;  in  fact,  by  it  we  are  firmly  bound  and  con- 
tinually united  to  His  holy  will; 

3.  Because  obedience  includes  the  practice  of  every 
other  virtue. 

We  shall  return  to  this  third  point  later  on,  but  must 
pause  to  remark  by  the  way  how  well  obedience  forms 
a  part  of  the  victim's  life  of  self-surrender;  for  St.  Thomas, 
in  the  first  reason  he  gives  for  assigning  the  foremost 
place  to  obedience,  says  that  by  it  we  make  of  ourselves 
a  whole  burnt-offering,  and  we  know  that  the  complete 
immolation  of  ourselves  is  an  act  essential  to  our  life  as  a 
victim;  while  in  the  second  reason  he  asserts  that  obedi- 
ence enables  us  perfectly  to  attain  our  end,  which  is  God, 
by  keeping  us  closely  and  constantly  united  to  Him. 
Such  is  the  condition  proper  to  the  victim;  it  belongs  to 
God,  it  is  immolated  for  God,  it  exists  for  God,  it  lives 
before  Him  and  in  Him.  And  as  his  sacrifice  is  a  holo- 
caust, and  in  a  holocaust  God  was  graciously  pleased  to 
accept  and  take  to  Himself  the  victim,  so  the  Religious, 
by  his  vow,  and  the  faithful  observance  of  that  vow,  is 
made  one  with  God  by  the  most  intimate  and  unbroken 
union. 

We  shall,  as  the  reader  will  undoubtedly  expect,  speak 
more  at  length  and  more  in  detail  on  the  subject  of  the 
vow  of  obedience  than  we  did  on  the  two  oth^-r  religious 


290  ON  THE  VOW  OF  OBEDIENCE, 

vows.  We  will  begin  with  a  precise  definition  of  the  vow, 
and  proceed  to  explain  the  terms  of  the  definition,  when 
explanation  is  needed,  and  finally  give  some  theological 
opinions  relating  to  the  practice  of  the  vow. 

"  The  religious  vow  of  obedience  is  a  promise  made  to 
God  to  obey  one's  lawful  Superiors,  in  all  that  they  com- 
mand in  accordance  with  the  Rule  of  the  Order." 

We  specify  lawful  Superiors,  and  we  give  the  names  of 
all  who  are  comprehended  under  this  title,  who  have,  in 
fact,  the  right  to  issue  orders  to  the  Religious  in  virtue 
of  holy  obedience. 

1.  Our  Holy  Father  the  Pope.  The  Sovereign  Pontiff 
may  notify  his  commands  to  any  professed  Religious  in 
matters  relative  to  the  religious  life,  not  only  because,  as 
the  Head  of  the  Church,  he  has  the  right  to  require  sub- 
mission and  obedience  from  all  the  faithful,  but  because  he 
is  in  reality  and  by  every  right  the  chief  Superior  of  all 
religious  Institutes;  — because  from  him  all  Superiors  and 
Heads  of  Houses  who  govern  religious  Communities  derive 
their  authority,  and  in  dependence  on  him  they  hold  it; — 
and  because  it  follows  thence  that  the  Religious,  when  he 
makes  his  profession,  pledges  himself  to  fulfil  primarily 
and  principally  the  duty  of  obedience  toward  him.  Hence 
we  see  the  connection  that  exists  between  the  Sovereign 
Pontiff  and  religious  Institutes. 

2.  The  Congregation  of  bishops  and  regular  clergy  and 
that  of  regular  discipline.  These  Congregations  are  in 
fact  appointed  by  the  Holy  See  to  enforce  good  govern- 
ment in  religious  Communities,  as  may  be  seen  from  the 
Bulls  of  Popes  Sixtus  V.  and  Innocent  XII. 

3.  The  Sacred  College,  provided  the  Chair  of  Peter  be 
vacant,  during  which  time  it  takes  the  place  of  the  Sovereign 
Pontiff. 

4.  The  Cardinal  Protector,  in  as  far  as  his  powers  extend. 

5.  The  Bishop  of  the  diocese  in  which  the  monastery  is 


ON  THE  VOW  OF  OBEDIENCE.  291 

situated,  inasmuch,  at  least,  as  it  is  subject  to  his  author- 
ity and  jurisdiction. 

6.  The  Superiors  General  of  the  Order;  this  goes  with- 
out speaking. 

7.  The  local  Superiors  of  the  Order.  This  again  is 
beyond  a  doubt.  But  how  about  subordinate  officers — the 
minister,  guest-master,  cook,  and  others?  Can  they  com- 
mand in  virtue  of  the  vow  of  obedience? 

The  answer  to  this  question  must  be  found  in  the  Con- 
stitutions of  each  Order  severally.  But  if  there  is  no 
definite  legislation  in  the  Rule  or  regulations,  the  follow- 
ing decisions,  agreed  upon  by  theologians,  may  serve  as  a 
guide  to  the  Religious  in  this  respect. 

In  general,  the  subordinate  officials  mentioned  above, 
who  have  one  or  several  of  the  Religious  under  them, 
can  not  issue  commands  which  are  binding  under  pain  of 
sin,  either  venial  or  mortal. 

We  say  in  general,  because  it  might  be  that  in  accordance 
with  the  will  of  a  higher  Superior,  or  in  virtue  of  the  statutes 
and  Constitutions  of  the  Order,  those  officials  might  have 
the  power  to  make  themselves  obeyed  by  those  under  them 
as  a  matter  of  conscience. 

In  such  a  case  they  would  also  possess  the  right  to 
command  in  virtue  of  the  vow  of  obedience.  Consequently 
if  a  Religious  subject  to  their  authority  were  to  disobey 
an  order  issued  in  virtue  of  holy  obedience,  he  would 
commit  two  sins:  the  first  against  the  fourth  command- 
ment, which  obliges  him  to  obey  every  lawful  Superior, 
the  other  against  his  vow. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  the  inferior  officer  was  not  author- 
ized to  give  an  order  binding  under  pain  of  sin  in  virtue 
of  the  fourth  commandment,  he  could  not  do  so  in  virtue 
of  the  vow  of  obedience. 

But  in  any  case  the  Religious  would  do  very  wrong  if, 
in  disobeying,  he  did  so  out  of  definite  contempt  for  au- 


292  ON  THE  VOW  OF  OBEDIENCE. 

thority;  for  whether  he  contemns  authority  in  the  person 
of  a  more  highly-placed  Superior  or  in  a  minor  official, 
it  is  the  same  authority  that  he  despises,  and  this  contempt 
for  authority  is  usually  considered  as  a  mortal  sin. 

The  advice  given  by  St.  Liguori  will  come  in  well  here. 
Speaking  to  a  spouse  of  Jesus  Christ,  he  says:  "If,  my 
Sister,  you  desire  to  be  really  obedient  and  a  good  Re- 
hgious,  you  ought  to  obey  not  merely  the  ecclesiastical 
Superior  or  the  Abbess,  but  all  the  officials  of  the  convent 
whom  the  Rule  orders  you  to  obey,  such  as  the  infirmarian, 
the  minister,  the  sacristine;  for  the  Abbess  may  be  obeyed 
from  motives  of  human  respect,  whilst,  in  obeying  the 
other  officials,  proof  is  given  of  a  true  spirit  of  humility 
and  of  submission." 

We  said,  in  our  definition  of  the  vow  of  obedience,  that 
it  is  a  promise  made  to  God  to  obey  one's  lawful  superiors 
when  they  issue  orders  in  accordance  with  the  Rule.  What 
is  meant  by  these  last  words? 

They  mean  that  the  Religious,  in  taking  a  vow  of  obe- 
dience, does  not  take  upon  himself  any  fresh  obligations 
in  his  character  of  a  Christian  and  a  citizen,  but  he  pledges 
himself  to  obey  all  orders  appertaining  to  the  religious 
life  in  general  which  he  embraces,  and  in  conformity 
with  the  particular  Rule  of  the  Order  of  which  he  becomes 
a  member.  Consequently  he  pledges  himself  to  do  all 
that  the  Rule  requires  of  him,  but  not  anything  which 
is  above  or  beyond  the  Rule,  nor  what  is  below  the  Rule 
or  contrary  to  the  Rule.    These  terms  need  explanation. 

We  say  that  something  is  beyond  the  Rule  when  an  act 
of  heroic  virtue  is  needed  for  its  accomplishment.  In 
general,  the  power  of  the  Superior  does  not  go  so  far  as 
this;  we  say  in  general,  because  exceptional  circumstances 
may  arise  when  an  order  of  this  kind  must  not  be  disobeyed ; 
as,  for  instance,  if  a  Superior  were  to  order  one  of  his 
subjects   to   nurse  another  member   of   the  Community 


ON  THE  VOW  OF  OBEDIENCE.  293 

who  was  attacked  by  the  plague,  the  Religious  might 
be  obliged  in  conscience  to  obey,  even  at  the  risk  of  his 
life. 

A  thing  is  below  the  Rule  if  it  is  ridiculous,  strange,  or 
peculiar.  A  wise  Superior  rarely  gives  orders  of  this 
nature,  and,  if  he  did,  it  can  not  be  said  that  the  Rehgious 
would  be  bound  in  conscience  to  obey. 

However,  an  inferior  must  not  be  too  ready  to  pronounce 
the  orders  given  him  to  be  peculiar,  because  his  pride  or 
self-love  revolts  against  them.  From  the  annals  of  monas- 
ticism  we  learn  that  injunctions  of  this  sort  were  not 
uncommon  even  under  the  rule  of  the  most  saintly  Supe- 
riors. They  are  a  most  efficacious  means  of  exercising 
a  Rehgious  in  obedience  and  teaching  him  to  practise 
this  virtue  in  its  perfection.  We  will  give  some  examples 
of  this  presently. 

Finally,  we  say  that  something  is  contrary  to  the  Rule 
if  it  is  bad  in  itself  or  opposed  to  the  spirit  of  the  Rule, 
or  simply  less  perfect  than  what  the  Rule  ordains. 

It  is  easy  to  understand  that  a  Superior  has  no  right 
to  issue  a  command  of  this  description,  since  it  would  be 
contrary  to  the  nature  of  the  vow,  which  ought  to  make 
us  tend  toward  perfection.  But  here  again,  although 
the  Superior  has  no  right  to  command  anything  less 
perfect  than  what  the  Rule  enjoins,  the  Religious  is  not 
bound  in  conscience  to  obey,  yet  he  must  not  overlook 
the  fact  that  what  appears  to  him  less  perfect  may  not 
be  so  in  reality,  on  account  of  exceptional  circumstances, 
or  special  reasons  which  the  Superior  may  have.  Conse- 
quently the  Religious  ought  to  obey  unless  what  is  com- 
manded is  obviously  contrary  to  the  will  of  God. 

St.  Liguori  asserts — and  he  quotes  several  theologians 
in  support  of  his  opinion — that  the  inferior  is  bound  to 
submit  even  if  it  should  appear  to  him  most  probable  that 
what  is  commanded  is  not  permitted,  because  the  Superior 


294  ON  THE  VOW  OF  OBEDIENCE. 

must  be  admitted  to  have  an  incontestable  right  to  com- 
mand, so  long  as  it  can  not  be  proved  that  he  is  over- 
stepping the  limits  of  his  powers. 

This  humble,  unquestioning  obedience  is  blessed  by 
God,  in  whose  place  our  Superior  stands  toward  us,  and 
to  whom,  not  to  man,  under  all  circumstances  our  obe- 
dience is  due. 

All  that  has  been  said  in  this  chapter  refers  to  the  obe- 
dience strictly  required  of  and  enjoined  upon  the  Religious; 
but  he  ought  not  to  rest  content  with  the  minimum,  he 
ought  to  strive  after  perfect  obedience,  which  has  a  far 
wider  range  and  purer  motives.  This  will  form  the  sub- 
ject of  the  following  chapters. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

ON  THE  EXCELLENCE  OF  THE   VIRTUE  OF  OBEDIENCE. 

What  an  earthly  paradise  is  this  which  we  have  entered! 
Obedience  is  the  paradise  of  pleasure,  the  garden  of  divine 
delight.  Happy  the  soul  who  establishes  herself  there 
and  makes  it  her  everlasting  abode!  Day  by  day  we  say: 
"Thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven/'  as  if  these 
words  epitomized  the  perfect  dispositions  of  the  redeemed 
in  heaven.  On  earth,  the  obedient  soul  does  the  will  of 
God,  and  thus  for  her  this  land  of  exile  is  transformed 
into  heaven  here  below.  "If  any  one  keep  My  words," 
Our  Lord  says,  "We  will  come  to  him  and  make  Our  abode 
with  him;"  We,  that  is,  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy 
Spirit.  What  an  immense  honor!  What  supreme  beati- 
tude is  this !  It  is,  indeed,  heaven  upon  earth.  Now  this 
happiness  is  the  special  reward  of  obedience,  for  the  obe- 
dient soul  always  keeps  the  commandments  of  Our  Lord. 

The  obedient  soul  is  the  true  elect,  the  predestined, 
the  real  saint.  These  words  need  explanation,  but  we 
know  no  language  sufficiently  fervid,  sufficiently  power- 
ful and  persuasive  for  our  purpose.  We  will  let  the  saints 
speak  for  themselves,  and  tell  us,  as  they  do  by  word 
and  by  example,  how  sublime  is  obedience,  how  infinite 
are  its  benefits. 

Obedience  derives  its  excellence  from  its  object,  which 
is  the  will  of  God,  revealed  to  us  by  the  will  of  the  Superior. 

St.  Bernard  speaks  thus  to  his  brethren  at  Clairvaux: 

295. 


296  EXCELLENCE  OF  OBEDIENCE. 

"God  has  condescended  to  make  our  Superiors  to  a  cer- 
tain extent  equal  to  Himself.  He  considers  the  respect 
or  disrespect  we  manifest  toward  them  as  shown  to  Him- 
self. It  is  of  them  He  says :  "  He  that  heareth  you,  heareth 
Me;  and  he  that  despiseth  you,  despiseth  Me;"  and  our 
Rule  on  its  part  says:  "The  obedience  rendered  to  the 
Superior  is  rendered  to  God  Himself.  All  that  is  com- 
manded by  the  man  who  stands  toward  us  in  the  place 
of  God  must  be  received  as  commanded  by  God  Himself, 
unless  it  be  unmistakably  opposed  to  the  will  of  God/' 
What  matter  whether  He  makes  known  His  will  by  the 
lips  of  His  ministers,  by  angels,  or  by  men? 

Brother  Giles,  one  of  the  first  companions  of  St.  Francis 
of  Assisi,  is  said  to  have  uttered  the  following  bold  but 
just  words:  "I  would  rather  obey  a  Superior  for  the  love 
of  God  than  obey  God  Himself;  for  any  one  who  obeys 
the  representative  of  Jesus  Christ  would  all  the  more 
certainly  obey  Jesus  Christ  Himself  if  He  gave  the  com- 
mand in  person. '* 

A  pious  writer,  the  author  of  a  lengthy  treatise  on 
obedience,  who  is  consequently  thoroughly  conversant 
with  his  subject,  says:  "There  is  every  reason  to  believe 
that  the  submission  which  we  render  to  the  sovereign 
majesty  of  God,  when  He  speaks  by  the  mouth  of  His 
representatives  on  earth,  our  Superiors,  that  is,  is  as  accept- 
able in  God's  sight  as  if  He  spoke  in  person;  and  that  He 
is  even  more  pleased  with  the  obedience  we  show  to  our 
Superiors,  because  it  is  more  difficult  to  honor  Him  by 
our  submission  when  He  is  concealed  and  disguised  under 
the  form  of  one  who  is,  perhaps,  unworthy  to  stand  in 
His  place,  whether  on  account  of  ignorance  or  some  other 
defects,  than  it  would  be  to  honor  and  obey  Him  in  person.'' 

Quotations  from  the  writings  of  the  saints  on  this  point 
might  be  multiplied.  We  will  add  one  word  of  instruction 
to   those   already   given,   than   which   nothing   could   be 


EXCELLENCE  OF  OBEDIENCE.  297 

more  decided  or  more  worthy  of  reverence,  since  it  was 
spoken  by  Our  Lord  Himself  to  B.  Margaret  Mary.  She 
had  received  an  order  from  her  divine  Spouse  which  her 
Superior  would  not  allow  her  to  execute.  Margaret  hesi- 
tated what  to  do,  as  she  could  not  resolve  on  acting  con- 
trary to  the  wishes  of  her  Superior;  then  Our  Lord  ad- 
dressed these  words  to  her,  which  ought  to  be  inscribed 
in  letters  of  gold  on  the  walls  of  every  religious  House : 

**I  am  well  pleased  that  thou  dost  prefer  following  the 
will  of  thy  Superior  to  Mine.  Know  that  I  am  not  offended 
at  thy  opposition  to  My  commands  for  the  sake  of  obe- 
dience, since  for  that  I  laid  down  My  life.  Therefore  I 
desire  that  not  only  shouldst  thou  do  all  that  thy  Superiors 
bid  thee,  but  also  that  thou  shouldst  do  nothing  that  I 
command  thee,  without  their  sanction.  For  I  love  obe- 
dience, and  without  it  no  one  can  please  Me." 

Thus  there  can  be  no  doubt  about  the  transcendent 
excellence  of  the  virtue  of  obedience.  It  places  the  Re- 
ligious in  communication  with  God  by  means  of  a  sublime 
mystery  of  faith.  For  God  is  not  immediately  apparent 
to  us;  we  behold  Him  under  the  form  of  a  mortal  creature; 
and  thus  not  only  have  we  the  signal  honor  of  being 
brought  into  communication  with  God,  but  we  enjoy 
that  privilege  by  a  sacrifice  of  our  reason  and  our  spirit- 
ual senses,  which  contemplate  His  adorable  Majesty  in  a 
dark  manner  and  under  the  veil  of  the  flesh  and  of  human 
imperfections. 

The  indubitable  fact  that  obedience  holds  the  foremost 
place  amongst  all  the  other  acts,  however  holy,  of  the 
religious  life,  is  another  striking  proof  of  its  excellence. 

This  was  the  dictum  of  the  ancient  Fathers  of  the  desert 
when,  on  the  occasion  of  a  dispute  which  arose  amongst  the 
monks  as  to  which  of  the  acts  of  religion  the  preeminence 
should  be  given,  the  question  was  referred  to  them.  They 
answered  unanimously:   ^'Our  opinion  is  that  obedience 


298  EXCELLENCE  OF  OBEDIENCE. 

ought  to  be  preferred  to  manual  labor,  spiritual  reading, 
to  silence,  solitude,  in  short  to  every  other  virtue." 

One  needs  but  to  open  the  book  containing  the  annals 
of  the  Fathers  of  the  desert,  in  order  to  see  how  thoroughly 
their  lives  were  in  conformity  with  this  decision.  On 
every  page  examples  are  met  with,  and  illustrations  of 
the  truth  which  is  revealed  in  Holy  Scripture:  ''Obedience 
is  better  than  sacrifices."  As  has  been  said,  the  superiority 
of  obedience  over  every  other  sacrifice,  however  holy, 
which  the  ReHgious  can  offer,  consists  in  this,  that  it 
is  himself,  his  own  person  which  he  gives  to  be  consumed 
in  the  flame  of  charity,  of  the  divine  good  pleasure,  as  a 
perfect  holocaust. 

He  also  who  is  greater  than  all  the  saints  Himself  gives 
the  preference  to  obedience  above  everything  else,  above 
all  the  acts  most  dear  to  His  Sacred  Heart.  Listen  to 
what  St.  Bernard  says  on  this  point: 

"Have  you  not  read  in  the  Gospel  how  Jesus  as  a  child 
sets  an  example  of  obedience  to  His  faithful  servants? 
He  remained  behind  in  Jerusalem,  and  told  His  parents 
that  He  must  occupy  Himself  with  the  interests  of  His 
Father's  glory.  But  when  they  did  not  appear  to  see  this 
as  He  did,  He  went  down  with  them  to  Nazareth.  He, 
their  Lord  and  Master,  does  not  disdain  to  conform  His 
conduct  to  what  His  disciples  think  advisable;  He  who  is 
God  is  obedient  to  men;  He  is  eternal  Wisdom,  yet  He 
submits  to  a  working-man  and  a  lowly  woman.  What 
is  said  of  Him  in  the  Gospel?    '  He  was  subject  to  them.'  " 

Then  the  saint,  addressing  those  Religious  who  think* 
it  a  hard  matter  to  obey,  adds  these  memorable  words: 

''How  is  this?  The  wisdom  of  God  submits  to  be 
directed  and  controlled  by  a  carpenter  and  a  woman;  His 
divine,  unerring  knowledge  yields  to  the  finite  opinion  of 
mortal  man;  and  you  find  it  difficult  to  give  up  your  judg- 
ment to  the  will  of  God,  who  enlightens  you  throus-h  the 


EXCELLENCE  OF  OBEDIENCE,  299 

medium  of  your  Superior!  You  have  yet  to  learn  that 
true  magnanimity  consists  in  submission  to  others.  For 
however  lofty,  however  useful  the  services  may  be  which 
you  propose  to  render  to  God,  they  must  invariably  give 
way  to  obedience,  since  the  basis  upon  which  the  Religious 
must  raise  the  structure  of  perfection  is  this  principle: 
that  obedience  must  be  preferred  to  every  other  act  of 
virtue,  however  great  and  good  it  may  be." 

This  reminds  us  of  the  answer  made  by  Blessed  Giles  to 
one  of  the  Brothers  who,  when  called  away  by  St.  Francis 
of  Assisi  from  prayer  to  go  in  quest  of  alms,  complained 
bitterly  of  the  interruption:  ''Brother,  I  see  that  you  do 
not  yet  know  what  prayer  really  is,  for  there  is  no  prayer 
so  good  and  so  perfect  as  this,  that  the  Religious  should 
do  the  will  of  his  Superior." 

St.  Augiistine  also  in  his  treatise,  "  De  opere  mona- 
chorum,"  says:"  Ten  thousand  prayers  said  by  a  disobedient 
monk  are  not  worth  as  much  as  one  said  by  the  monk  who 
obeys." 

Thus  obedience  is  the  universal  rule  of  the  Religious. 
This  constitutes  the  third  excellence  of  this  virtue. 

In  some  religious  Orders  only  one  vow  is  taken,  or  at 
least  only  one  promise  is  made  in  the  formula  of  profession, 
the  vow  of  obedience.  Why  is  this?  Because  it  is  evident 
that  taking  this  vow  answers  to  all  that  is  essential  to  the 
practice  of  the  life  of  perfection. 

The  Religious  gives  up  his  will;  he  is  therefore  no 
longer  free  to  return  to  the  world  to  enjoy  its  goods  and 
its  pleasures.  From  that  time  forth  obedience  regulates 
everything:  his  prayers,  meals,  work,  occupations;  his 
relations  with  others,  soUtude,  the  care  given  to  the  body, 
mortifications,  etc.  For  all  these  there  are  fixed  rules, 
and  in  fact  the  ReUgious  who  is  careful  to  observe  what 
is  ordained  for  every  hour  of  the  day  and  of  the  night 
in  the  constitutions,  the  particular  regulations,  the  usages 


300  EXCELLENCE  OF  OBEDIENCE, 

and  customs  of  the  Order  or  the  House;  the  Religious  who 
does  this,  I  say,  does  not  so  much  as  make  a  single  move- 
ment which  is  not  decreed  by  this  time-honored  legislation; 
but  above  and  beyond  all  the  rules  of  general  or  individual 
application,  there  is  one  general,  one  universal  law,  the 
rule  of  obedience.  By  this  all  is  ordained  and  determined, 
and  as  a  last  appeal  the  will  of  God  is  practically  revealed, 
and  in  His  will,  as  the  Psalmist  says,  is  true  life.  Obedience 
is  the  true,  the  sole  motive  and  mainspring  of  every  action 
of  the  Religious:  the  initial  source,  the  infallible  regulator 
of  all  he  does,  to  which  it  also  gives  sanction  and  perfection, 
Ruffin  relates  that  one  day  some  monks  went  to  visit  an 
aged  anchorite,  and  by  their  arrival  obliged  him  to  take 
his  midday  meal  at  an  earlier  hour  than  the  regular  one. 
Afterwards  they  asked  him  if  it  had  not  vexed  him  to 
break  the  prescribed  fast.  ''  Not  in  the  least,"  he  replied. 
"  I  am  only  sorry  when  I  do  my  own  will,  for  then  I  fear 
lest  I  should  have  pleased  myself  and  thus  lost  the  merit 
of  my  deed;  but  if  I  act  under  obedience  I  am  certain, 
whatever  I  do,  of  gaining  not  a  little  merit,  because  obedi- 
ence imparts  a  high  value  to  all  which  it  commands." 

These  last  words  disclose  a  fourth  excellence  which  the 
virtue  of  obedience  possesses :  it  raises  ordinary  actions  to 
a  very  much  higher  level  of  merit. 

In  the  second  part  of  this  book  mention  was  made  of  St. 
Dositheus  as  a  model  of  perfect  obedience;  so  touching  an 
example  of  this  virtue  may  aptly  be  now  recalled  to  mind. 

Dositheus  was  a  young  man  of  noble  birth.  In  spite  of 
his  frail  and  delicate  health  he  embraced  the  monastic  life. 
But  his  health  was  too  weak  to  allow  of  his  following  the 
exercises  of  the  Community;  he  could  not  rise  early  or  keep 
late  vigils,  nor  could  he  engage  in  manual  labor.  He 
spent  five  years  in  the  infirmary,  obliged  to  content  him- 
self with  performing,  as  far  as  his  strength  permitted,  the 
most  menial  offices  and  waiting  upon  any  others  who  were 


EXCELLENCE  OF  OBEDIENCE.  301 

sick.  But  in  doing  all  this  he  practised  obedience  in  its 
greatest  perfection;  and  on  his  death  at  an  early  age  it 
was  revealed  to  a  holy  monk  that  this  frail  and  sickly  young 
man  had  received  the  same  reward  as  St.  Paul  and  St. 
Antony.  The  other  monks  were  greatly  astonished  when 
they  heard  this,  and  some  seemed  inclined  to  take  exception 
at  it ;  but  their  wise  Abbot,  speaking  in  God's  name,  told 
them  that  Dositheus  owed  this  glory  to  the  perfect  manner 
in  which  he  practised  obedience.  "  Never,"  he  said, 
''did  he  in  anything  do  his  own  will;  never  did  he  allow 
himself  to  be  guided  by  his  own  judgment." 

And  if  it  be  asked  how  it  is  that  obedience,  even  in  the 
most  trifling  matters,  can  endow  a  Religious  with  so  great 
a  measure  of  merit,  can  raise  him  to  so  high  a  degree  of 
glory,  the  answer  is  simple.  God  has  need  of  nothing;  He 
does  not  want  great  deeds  on  our  part,  grand  projects  or 
extraordinary  penances.  He  only  wants  us  to  give  Him 
glory.  Now  we  glorify  Him  by  our  fidelity  in  accom- 
plishing His  good  pleasure.  If  it  is  His  will  that  we 
should  perform  the  most  ordinary  work,  as  it  was  His 
will  (mark  this  well)  that  His  adorable  Son  should  when  at 
Nazareth,  we  glorify  Him,  we  execute  His  good  pleasure 
by  doing  that  work.  But  what  is  the  virtue  which  indi- 
cates to  us  what  it  is  His  good  pleasure  that  we  should  do? 
It  is  obedience,  none  other  than  obedience.  Happy  the 
Religious  who  thoroughly  understands  and  assents  to  this 
simple  but  sublime  truth! 

It  is  one  with  which  the  saints  were  all  familiar.  The 
examples  afforded  by  their  lives  are  innumerable.  Let 
us  take  that  of  St.  Bridget.  In  compliance  with  the 
behest  of  her  Superior,  she  one  day  took  a  bath,  although 
she  felt  the  strongest  disinclination  for  it.  Afterwards 
Our  Lord  appeared  to  her  and  expressed  His  approval 
of  her  conduct,  telling  her  that  the  lowest  actions,  even 
if  agreeable  to  nature  or  perhaps  to  some  extent  partaking 


302        EXCELLENCE  OF  OBEDIENCE, 

of  the  nature  of  a  fault,  if  done  under  obedience,  acquire 
great  value  in  His  sight. 

St.  Francis  of  Sales  relates  the  following  trait  in  his  own 
pleasing  manner. 

' '  St.  Gertrude  had  taken  the  veil  in  a  convent  the 
Superior  of  which  was  well  aware  that  the  saint  had  a 
very  weak  and  delicate  constitution.  On  that  account 
she  had  greater  consideration  shown  to  her  than  to  the 
other  Rehgious,  and  the  Superior  did  not  allow  her  to  prac- 
tise the  austerities  which  were  usual  in  that  Order.  What 
did  Gertrude  do  in  order  to  become  a  saint?  Nothing  else 
but  submit  quite  simply  to  the  will  of  the  Mother  Superior; 
and  although  in  her  fervor  she  would  fain  have  done  as  the 
others  did,  yet  she  showed  no  sign  of  this,  for  when  she 
was  told  to  go  to  bed,  she  went  at  once,  without  question- 
ing or  objecting,  knowing  full  well  that  she  could  enjoy 
the  presence  of  her  divine  Spouse  when  lying  on  her  bed 
in  virtue  of  obedience,  as  she  could  if  she  had  been  in  the 
choir  with  her  fellow-Religious.  And  for  the  sake  of  making 
known  the  peace  and  tranquillity  of  heart  she  acquired  by 
thus  practising  obedience,  Our  Lord  vouchsafed  to  reveal 
to  St.  Mechtilde,  a  nun  in  the  same  convent,  that  if  any 
one  desired  to  find  Him  here  below.  He  was  to  be  sought 
first  of  all  in  the  Most  Holy  Sacrament  of  the  Altar,  and 
after  that  in  the  heart  of  Sister  Gertrude." 

The  same  saint  says  elsewhere:  "The  slightest  action 
done  in  virtue  of  obedience  is  pleasing  to  God.  If  you 
take  your  meals  under  obedience,  eating  is  on  your  part 
more  pleasing  to  God  than  the  fasts  of  the  hermits,  if  in 
this  they  were  a  rule  to  themselves.  Lay  down  to  rest  when 
this  is  enjoined  upon  you,  and  the  repose  you  take  will  be 
more  pleasing  to  God  than  work  voluntarily  undertaken.". 


CHAPTER  XII. 

ON  THE  NECESSITY  OF  THE  VIRTUE  OF  OBEDIENCE. 

That  obedience  is  necessary,  absolutely  and  indispensa- 
bly necessary,  to  the  well-being  of  Communities  is  an 
obvious  and  undeniable  fact.  Could  a  society  hold  to- 
gether for  a  single  day  unless  a  spirit  of  subordination 
prevailed  amongst  its  members?  And  when  the  society 
in  question  is  one  which  is  bound  together  by  the  interior 
bonds  of  the  heart  and  of  the  mind  far  more  than  by  any 
exterior  relations,  it  is  as  clear  as  dayhght  that  for  the  wel- 
fare, the  real  welfare  of  a  society  of  that  nature,  obedience 
must  be  strictly  enforced. 

Poverty  is  the  wealth  of  Communities,  chastity  is  their 
glory,  mutual  charity  is  their  happiness,  while  obedience 
imparts  to  them  solidity,  prosperity,  life. 

If  the  religious  life  is  compared  to  a  building,  then 
obedience  is  the  foundation  on  which  its  walls  are  raised, 
the  cement  that  binds  the  stones  together,  in  short  all 
that  forms  it  into  a  solid  whole.  This  is  said  by  the 
saints,  in  particular  by  St.  Bonaventure,  St.  Teresa,  and 
others. 

If  it  be  compared  to  the  human  body,  obedience  is 
what  gives  it  health,  vitality,  energy,  beauty,  abundant 
strength,  in  a  word  it  is  the  soul  that  informs  and  ani- 
mates it. 

If  it  be  said  to  be  a  thing  of  great  value,  a  treasure 
(and  well  it  merits  that  title),  obedience  is  its  most  pre- 

303 


304    NECESSITY  OF  THE  VIRTUE  OF  OBEDIENCE. 

cious,  most  costly  portion,  while  at  the  same  time  it  is  the 
trustworthy  guardian  and  invincible  defender  of  that 
treasure. 

If  we  say  with  St.  Catharine  of  Sienna  that  it  is  a  spiritual 
bark  of  which  the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  Master,  and  into 
which  He  admits  souls  who  are  desirous  of  attaining  per- 
fection. Obedience  is  the  oarsman  who  propels  that  vessel 
over  the  waves,  and  the  helmsman  who  holds  the  rudder 
and  guides  its  course.  Soon  after  the  saint,  mixing  up 
the  religious  life  and  obedience,  as  if  they  were  inter- 
changeable terms,  says:  "Obedience  is  in  itself  a  ship, 
a  ship  laden  with  rich  treasures,  and  who  sails  in  that 
bark  over  the  ocean  of  time  need  have  no  anxiety  as  to 
anything  he  may  want  for  his  spiritual  or  temporal  necessi- 
ties, since  those  who  are  truly  obedient  and  observe  the 
Rule  scrupulously  are  under  the  care  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
the  Captain  of  that  ship.'' 

Mere  Emilie,  whom  we  are  never  tired  of  quoting, 
because  of  her  high  attainments  in  the  practice  of  virtue 
and  the  rare  intelligence  she  displayed  in  all  that  concerns 
the  religious  Hfe,  makes  use  of  the  same  comparison,  bor- 
rowed from  St.  Catharine:  "Obedience  resembles  a  vessel 
which  is  secure  against  shipwreck  though  it  sails  amongst 
rocks  and  is  tossed  by  tempests."  She  adds:  "Obedience 
is  the  thermometer  of  the  heart  in  respect  to  our  love  for 
God;  it  shows  the  greater  or  less  amount  of  supernatural 
heat  that  warms  it;  it  is  the  essential  element  of  the 
religious  life." 

This  is  tantamount  to  saying  that  the  religious  state 
can  not  possibly  exist,  much  less  thrive,  without  obedience; 
so  we  may  safely  conclude  that  it  is  of  the  utmost  necessity 
for  religious  Communities. 

It  is  equally  essential  for  each  individual  member  of  the 
Community,  as  we  shall  proceed  to  show.  It  is  necessary 
for  the  novice,  for  the  Religious  who  is  tempted,  for  the 


NECESSITY  OF  THE  VIRTUE  OF  OBEDIENCE.     305 

tepid  and  imperfect,  as  well  as  for  those  who  are  in  earnest 
and  generous  in  God's  service,  and  also  for  the  perfect. 

1.  Obedience  is  necessary  for  the  novice.  The  saying 
of  an  ancient  Father  of  the  desert  has  been  handed  down 
to  us:  "Obedience  is  the  principal,  the  only  condition 
befitting  the  Religious."  St.  Bernard,  writing  to  his  sister, 
reminds  her  of  this  saying:  Obedience  must  be  your  one 
thought  and  aim,  for  the  sole  object  of  the  Religious;  the 
constant  posture  of  her  mind  ought  to  be  the  practice  of 
obedience.  Some  old  writers,  employing  a  term  which 
can  no  longer  be  used  in  the  same  sense,  say  that  obedience 
is  the  only  trade  of  the  Religious.  Now  if  obedience  is  the 
trade  of  the  Religious,  it  is  clear  that  the  novice,  who  is  an 
apprentice  in  this  trade,  must  endeavor  to  attain  pro- 
ficiency in  it  during  the  period  of  his  probation  by  con- 
stant exercise. 

Fr.  Lallemand,  an  eminent  member  of  the  Society  of 
Jesus,  well  versed  both  in  the  theory  and  the  practice 
of  the  religious  virtues,  made  his  novices  take  obedience 
for  the  subject  of  their  particular  examen  for  five  or  six 
consecutive  months.  "Do  not  grow  weary  of  hearing 
me  speak  of  obedience,  my  children,"  he  would  say.  "If 
you  can  perfect  yourselves  in  that  virtue  you  may  rest 
assured  that  you  are  in  the  right  way  to  make  your  sanc- 
tification  sure." 

It  is  no  easy  task  to  tell  all  the  benefits  that  obedience 
confers  on  the  novice.  He  finds  in  her  a  mother,  a  nurse, 
a  friend,  a  protectress,  a  powerful  advocate. 

She  is  his  mother,  because  by  her  he  was  born  into  the 
true  life  of  religion.  She  bears  him  in  her  womb  during 
the  time  he  is  being  formed  in  the  novitiate,  and  gives 
him  birth  on  the  auspicious  day  of  his  profession. 

She  is  his  nurse,  because  nourished  by  the  milk  of  her 
wise  counsels  and  encouragement  he  grows  and  makes 
progress  in  the  life  which  as  his  mother  she  gave  him. 


306     NECESSITY  OF  THE  VIRTUE  OF  OBEDIENCE. 

She  is  his  friend;  she  consoles  him  when  he  is  in  trouble, 
strengthens  him  when  he  is  tempted,  raises  him  when  he 
falls. 

She  is  his  protectress;  she  preserves  him  from  many 
dangers  arising  from  self-love,  dejection,  inconstancy, 
presumption,  etc. 

Finally  she  is  his  powerful  advocate;  for  she  it  is  w^ho 
inclines  the  hearts  of  his  Superiors  toward  him  when  he 
has  done  wrong.  For  whatever  the  misdeeds,  the  natural 
defects,  the  imperfections  of  a  novice  may  be,  his  Superiors 
will  always  judge  him  leniently  and  form  great  hopes  of 
him,  if  only  he  is  sincerely  obedient. 

What  a  blessed  thing  obedience  is  then  for  the  novice, 
exposed  as  he  is  to  so  many  dangers  and  errors  of  judg- 
ment, and  obliged  to  labor  at  the  great  work  of  his  refor- 
mation! 

Some  one  may  perhaps  say :  All  that  is  equally  true  of 
humility.  It  seems  like  a  depreciation  of  humiUty  to 
extol  obedience  in  this  way.  Not  so;  the  two  virtues  are 
but  one;  and  we  answer  in  the  words  of  St.  Catharine  of 
Sienna:  ^'  Humility  is  the  measure  of  obedience,  and  obe- 
dience is  the  measure  of  humility."  Let  us  remember  this 
saying  and  apply  it  to  what  follows. 

2.  Obedience  is  necessary  to  those  who  are  tempted. 
It  is  necessary  because  of  the  irresistible  power  it  possesses 
against  every  manner  of  temptation.  Temptation  is  a 
conflict  which  the  devil,  the  world,  and  the  flesh  wage 
against  us.  It  is  essential  that  at  any  cost  we  gain  the 
victory,  for  our  external  salvation  is  at  stake.  But  who 
will  be  our  ablest  ally  in  this  desperate  fight?  Obedience, 
most  plainly.  Holy  Scripture  says  expressly:  *'An 
obedient  man  shall  speak  of  victory. ' '  Vir  obediens  loquetur 
victoriam  (Prov.  xxi.  28).  These  consoling  words  ought 
to  be  the  constant  subject  of  meditation  for  all  Religious 
who  are  tormented  by  temptations  in  this  land  of  exile. 


NECESSITY  OF  THE  VIRTUE  OF  OBEDIENCE.     307 

The  Fathers,  commenting  on  another  sentence  from 
Holy  Writ,  The  enemy  hateth  the  sound  of  thy  keeper, 
thus  explain  these  somewhat  obscure  words:  ''The 
keeper  of  the  Religious  is  his  Superior;  the  sound  of  the 
keeper  is  the  salutary  advice  he  gives  to  enable  the  Re- 
ligious to  repel  the  assaults  of  the  enemy."  St.  Dorotheus 
is  more  explicit.  "Not  only,"  he  says,  "do  the  counsels 
of  the  Superior  terrify  the  enemy,  who  is  the  devil,  but 
even  the  sound  of  his  voice  alarms  him,  and  if  the  obedient 
monk  determines  to  have  recourse  to  his  Superior,  that 
suffices  to  put  the  demon  to  flight." 

The  same  Father  used  to  say  that  nothing  pleases  the 
devil  more  than  to  see  Religious  disobeying  the  orders 
of  their  Superiors.  Those  who  do  so  are  his  favorites,  for 
he  can  do  with  them  whatever  he  chooses. 

Not  only  is  the  devil  defeated  when  obedience  intervenes 
to  resist  him,  but  there  is  no  better  means  of  subduing  the 
flesh  and  overcoming  the  world  than  this  same  virtue. 
How  often  is  this  exemplified  in  the  lives  of  the  saints. 
One  reads  of  some  who,  tortured  by  distressing  thoughts, 
were  delivered  from  them  as  soon  as  they  opened  their 
heart  to  their  Superior  and  were  counseled  by  him.  St. 
Magdalen  of  Pazzi  found  this  the  most  efficacious  method 
of  getting  rid  of  the  painful  and  humiliating  thoughts  with 
which  she  was  constantly  beset. 

When  a  soul  makes  progress  in  the  way  of  perfection, 
other  temptations  assail  her  at  every  step,  such  as  indis- 
creet zeal,  an  ill-regulated  longing  for  what  is  really  good 
in  itself,  a  vehement  desire  to  perform  extraordinary 
penances,  or  a  mental  delusion  of  some  kind  or  other. 
Now  daily  experience  shows  that  the  remedy  for  all  these 
evils  is  purely  and  simply  obedience.  Here  again,  as 
always  and  everywhere,  "  the  obedient  man  shall  speak  of 
victory." 

3.  Obedience    is    necessary    for    imperfect    Religious. 


308     NECESSITY  OF  THE  VIRTUE  OF  OBEDIENCE. 

There  is  no  need  to  say  much  on  this  point.  If  they  are 
desirous  to  get  rid  of  their  faults,  let  them  abandon  them- 
selves to  the  guidance  of  their  Superior  and  that  will 
suffice.  It  is  the  unanimous  opinion  of  the  Fathers,  writes 
Cassian,  that  no  Religious  can  conquer  any  passion,  be  it 
anger,  dejection,  or  carnal  desires,  nor  can  he  acquire 
true  humility  of  heart,  mutual  charity,  and  grace  to  perse- 
vere in  the  religious  life,  unless  from  the  beginning  he 
subjugates  his  will  to  that  of  his  Superior. 

4.  Obedience  is  necessary  for  generous  souls  who  ad- 
vance resolutely  in  the  way  of  perfection.  The  chief 
virtue  of  these  souls,  according  to  the  most  enlightened 
masters  of  the  spiritual  life,  is  discretion;  that  is  to  say, 
the  supernatural  interior  disposition  which  induces  the 
soul  to  observe  the  happy  medium;  not  through  culpable 
negligence  to  fail  to  correspond  with  grace,  nor  to  go  to 
the  other  extreme  of  exaggerated  eagerness,  presumption, 
and  singularity.  All  writers  on  the  spiritual  life  attach  great 
importance  to  this  virtue.  We  know  that  St.  Antony 
extolled  it  and  placed  it  above  all  others.  Now  it  is  to 
obedience  that  it  owes  this  foremost  rank  and  dignity, 
for  without  obedience  discretion  is  really  hnpossible,  as 
the  pious  Gerson  says,  so  that  the  discretion  that  befits 
the  Religious  is  to  place  himself  unreservedly  at  the  dis- 
cretion of  his  Superior. 

Numerous  examples  might  be  adduced  in  confinna- 
tion  of  this  truth.  Amongst  them  we  will  select  the  fol- 
lowing: 

The  Blessed  Margaret  Mary,  at  the  outset  of  her  religious 
life,  sometimes  gave  hee  rein  to  her  ardent  longing  for 
perfection,  and  it  appears  that  the  practices  suggested  by 
her  fervor  were  not  always  regulated  by  obedience.  Listen 
to  her  own  words : 

"Although  the  keen,  clear-sighted  vision  of  my  divine 
Spouse  discerns  the  least  want  of  humility  and  charity, 


NECESSITY  OF  THE  VIRTUE  OF  OBEDIENCE.     309 

and  for  these  He  administers  a  severe  reproof,  yet  nothing 
is  to  be  compared  to  any  failure  in  obedience  either  to 
the  Rule  or  to  my  Superiors ;  above  all,  the  slightest  sign 
of  reluctance  shown  by  a  nun  in  answering  her  Superiors 
is  intolerable  to  Him.  '  Thou  deceivest  thyself,'  He  said 
to  me,  '  in  thinking  to  please  Me  by  these  acts  and  these 
mortifications,  rather  than  give  up  which,  since  they  are 
chosen  by  thy  own  will,  thou  wouldst  bend  the  will  of 
thy  Superior  to  thy  will.  Know  that  I  spurn  all  those 
acts  as  fruits  spoiled  by  self-will,  which  is  abhorrent  to  one 
in  a  Religious;  and  I  should  be  much  more  pleased  to 
see  her  accept  little  comforts  and  indulgences  through 
obedience  than  harden  herself  with  fasts  and  austerities 
through  her  own  will.'  And  if  it  happens  that  without 
His  command  or  the  orders  of  my  Superior  I  perform  of 
my  own  accord  some  mortification  or  penance,  He  does 
not  permit  me  to  offer  them  to  Him,  but  rebukes  and 
punishes  me  for  them  just  as  for  any  other  faults,  all  of 
which  will  receive  their  due  penalty  in  purgatory.  Once, 
when  I  had  finished  taking  the  discipline,  as  I  had  been 
told  to  do,  for  the  space  of  an  Ave  Maris  Stella,  Our  Lord 
said  to  me :  'I  have  had  my  share ' ;  and  when  I  went  on 
He  said :  *  Now  thou  art  giving  the  devil  his  share,'  and 
this  made  me  stop  instantly.  Another  time  when  I 
wished  to  go  on  longer  than  the  time  permitted  for  the 
souls  in  purgatory,  they  came  around  me  and  complained 
that  the  strokes  of  the  discipline  were  falling  on  them. 
This  made  me  resolve  to  die  rather  than  exceed  in  the 
very  least  the  limit  fixed  by  obedience." 

What  an  excellent  lesson  for  those  who,  under  the  pre- 
text of  fervor  and  generosity,  think  to  be  their  own  guide 
in  the  way  of  perfection ! 

5.  Finally,  obedience  is  necessary  for  the  perfect,  that 
is  to  say,  for  souls  who  have  become  familiarized  with 
the  practices  of  the  life  of  perfection,  and  who  by  means 


310     NECESSITY  OF  THE  VIRTUE  OF  OBEDIENCE, 

of  them  have  attained  to  union  with  God  by  charity; 
a  Hfe  of  union  with  Him  which  is  in  truth  a  foretaste 
and  actual  commencement  of  the  Ufe  of  the  blessed.  Those 
who  have  reached  this  state  have  vanquished  the  world, 
the  devil,  the  flesh,  and  all  unruly  passions.  After  all 
these  victories  the  soul  seems  to  repose  in  God  as  in  her 
center,  and  not  unfrequently  extraordinary  favors  and 
sublime  gifts  are  granted  in  that  state  of  sanctity  to  which 
God  in  His  mercy  has  raised  the  soul. 

But  then,  more  than  ever,  obedience  is  necessary.  Holy 
Scripture  says :  ' '  The  greater  thou  art,  the  more  humble 
thyself  in  all  things,  and  thou  shall  find  grace  before  God  " 
(Ecclus.  iii.  20).  Now  the  humiliation  which  is  here  said 
to  be  necessary  for  the  soul  consists  principally  in  the 
practice  of  obedience. 

We  will  again  listen  to  the  masters  of  the  life  of  perfec- 
tion, for  they  speak  with  true  enlightenment,  and  their 
authority  is  unimpeachable. 

St.  Gregory,  Pope,  says:  "An  inferior  must  never  feel 
confident  concerning  any  doctrine  which  he  believes  that 
he  has  received  from  Heaven,  even  though  it  were  taught 
him  by  God  Himself,  until  his  Superior  has  approved  of 
that  doctrine." 

St.  John  of  the  Cross  speaks  yet  more  emphatically  on 
this  point,  for  on  his  part  he  says  that  if  the  inferior  feels 
no  inclination  to  communicate  the  teaching  he  has  received 
in  a  supernatural  manner  to  his  Superior,  it  is  a  sure 
proof  that  it  was  an  angel  of  darkness,  not  an  angel  of 
light,  who  spoke  to  him. 

St.  Vincent  Ferrer  also  says:  "Even  supposing  it  to  be 
true  that  your  Superior  is  less  enlightened  than  you  are  in 
spiritual  matters,  that  is  no  reason  for  withdrawing  from 
his  direction,  nor  does  it  justify  you  in  trusting  to  your 
own  guidance.  For,  whatever  your  Superior  may  be,  you 
need  not  fear  that  he  will  prove  a  hindrance  to  your  progress 


NECESSITY  OF  THE  VIRTUE  OF  OBEDIENCE.  311 

in  perfection.  He  may  err,  but  you  can  not  err  in  obeying 
him." 

This  is  why  St.  Teresa,  whose  spiritual  knowledge  was 
so  extensive  and  so  sohd,  used  to  say:  "I  may  be  deceived 
in  regard  to  revelations,  but  I  know  I  can  not  be  deceived 
in  obeying." 

Enough  has  now  been  said  on  this  interesting  and 
important  subject  to  prove  to  every  Religious  that  how- 
ever great  his  needs,  however  great  the  graces  bestowed 
on  him,  obedience  is  indispensable  to  him. 

O  my  beloved  brothers  and  sisters,  who  are  privileged 
to  live  under  the  rule  of  obedience,  how  sublime  is  the 
blessing,  how  signal  the  favor  you  enjoy!  It  is  indeed  a 
source  of  perpetual  rejoicing,  of  perpetual  delight  to  have 
been  called  to  share  in  these  celestial  benefits. 

Cultivate  these  sentiments  of  fervent,  heartfelt  thanks- 
giving, appreciate  the  happiness  which  is  yours,  and  in 
order  to  augment  it  yet  further,  give  your  attention  to 
what  will  now  be  said  concerning  the  qualities  of  this 
wondrous  virtue 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

ON  THE  QUALITIES  OP  THE  VIRTUE  OF  OBEDIENCE. 

The  Religious  consecrated  by  his  vows  to  the  life  of  a 
victim,  of  a  perfect  victim  of  obedience,  rejoices  in  the 
conviction  that  in  every  state  and  at  every  age  obedience 
is  for  him  an  absolute  necessity.  In  his  eager  longing  for 
sacrifice  and  self-immolation,  he  thanks  God  for  the 
consciousness  that  nothing  in  life  or  death,  neither  the 
most  signal  graces  nor  the  most  exalted  employments, 
can  avail  to  loosen  the  cords  that  bind  him  on  the  sacri- 
ficial altar;  but  that  those  graces,  those  dignities  only 
furnish  another  reason  for  submission  and  self-surrender 
to  the  will  of  his  Superiors.  Therefore  with  fresh  eagerness 
he  now  seeks  to  acquire  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
qualities  of  obedience.  This  knowledge  will  stimulate 
him  to  a  more  perfect  practice  of  that  virtue,  to  greater 
fervor  in  his  life  of  self-sacrifice ;  and  this  is  his  sole  ambi- 
tion. 

Religious  obedience  has  ten  principal  characteristics: 
it  is  simple,  humble,  indifferent,  all-embracing,  attentive, 
prompt,  unreserved,  cheerful,  patient,  and  filial. 

We  will  proceed  to  consider  each  of  these  characteristics 
severally. 

1.  Obedience  is  simple.  In  the  thirteenth  chapter  of  the 
second  part  we  defined  simplicity  as  implying  unity,  or 
oneness.  Simplicity  does  in  fact  see  God  alone  in  every- 
thing; it  has  a  single  eye  for  His  will.  His  good  pleasure, 

312 


QUALITIES  OF  THE  VIRTUE  OF  OBEDIENCE.    313 

His  interests,  His  glory.  Simple  obedience  therefore  is 
that  which  sees  God  alone  in  the  Superior,  God's  will  in 
the  will  of  the  Superior,  and  who  fulfils  that  will  for  God's 
sake,  for  His  glory  and  for  His  love;  without  looking  to 
the  right  hand  or  to  the  left.  Thus  no  criticizing,  no  com- 
paring, no  hesitation,  no  questioning  as  to  the  why  and 
wherefore:  God  wills  it;  that  is  enough. 

St.  Gregory  depicts  this  simple  obedience  in  these  words: 
"The  truly  obedient  man  is  he  who  never  thinks  of  exam- 
ining the  opinion  or  wishes  of  his  Superior,  or  discussing  the 
orders  he  receives,  approving  some  and  disapproving  of 
others;  who  in  all  simplicity  commits  the  guidance  of  his 
life  to  him  who  is  in  authority  over  him.  His  pleasure 
is  to  obey;  and  he  thinks  all  that  he  is  told  to  do  is  right; 
for  he  who  has  learned  what  true  obedience  is  never  thinks 
of  using  his  own  judgment." 

Not  only  is  the  obedient  Religious  far  from  entertaining 
any  wish  that  his  Superior  would  tell  him  the  reason  why 
he  orders  this  or  that,  but,  on  the  contrary,  he  is  never 
so  happy  as  when  he  is  merely  informed  what  has  to  be 
done.     He  thinks  obedience  ought  to  be  bhnd. 

St.  Aloysius  used  to  say  that  to  expect  the  Superior  to 
expound  his  reasons  would  be  equivalent  to  regarding  him, 
not  as  God's  representative,  but  as  a  clever,  worldly-wise 
man,  who  was  generally  successful  in  persuading  people 
to  do  what  he  wanted.  All  the  saints  delighted  in  this 
perfect  subjugation  of  the  mind  and  the  judgment. 

Thus  obedience  is  simple. 

2.  Obedience  is  humble.  If  it  is  simple  it  will  be  humble; 
if  it  sees  only  God,  His  will,  His  good  pleasure,  it  will 
submit  in  all  humility.  Besides,  there  is  a  close  affinity 
between  true  obedience  and  humility.  St.  Ambrose  said: 
Humility  and  obedience  are  one  and  the  selfsame  thing. 
They  have  a  common  cradle  and  a  common  tomb. 

The  first  way  in  which  humility  helps  obedience  is  by 


314    QUALITIES  OF  THE  VIRTUE  OF  OBEDIENCE. 

causing  the  Religious  to  regard  every  order  given  by  the 
Superior  as  wise  and  just,  never  unreasonable  or  onerous, 
however  painful,  difficult,  and  humiliating  it  may  be.  The 
example  of  St.  Radegund  will  come  in  appositely  here. 
Whilst  Queen  of  France,  she  founded  the  convent  of 
Sainte-Croix,  near  Poitiers.  Before  her  death,  she  desired 
to  taste  the  tranquil  happiness  of  the  life  of  perfection,  and 
with  that  view  presented  herself  as  a  suppliant  for  admis- 
sion at  the  door  of  the  house  of  which  she  was  the  Foundress. 
Now  it  happened  that  at  that  very  time  the  Abbess  was  a 
person  who  had  formerly  been  in  the  Queen's  service. 
This  made  no  difference  to  the  royal  postulant;  she  sub- 
mitted like  a  slave  to  the  orders  of  her  Superior,  without 
ever  desiring  the  least  exemption  to  be  made  on  her  behalf; 
and  she  cheerfully  executed  the  orders  she  received, 
whatever  they  were,  serving  in  the  kitchen,  washing  the 
dishes,  or  waiting  upon  the  nun  who  prepared  the  meals, 
carrying  in  to  her  all  that  she  wanted. 

In  the  second  place,  humility  causes  the  truly  obedient 
Religious  to  credit  his  Superior  with  all  the  good  he  is 
able  to  effect,  without  any  reserve.  In  fact  he  sincerely 
believes  that  if  he  succeeds,  his  success  is  to  be  attributed 
not  to  his  own  merit,  but  to  the  virtue  God  gives  to  the 
prayers  of  him  who  is  His  representative.  This  admirable 
saying  of  an  ancient  hermit  has  been  recorded:  I  asked 
him,  the  narrator  states,  in  what  sense  one  can  say  that 
in  the  virtue  of  obedience  that  of  humility  is  also  com- 
prised. His  answer  was  this:  Let  the  obedient  monk 
raise  the  dead,  let  him  have  the  gift  of  tears,  let  the  most 
violent  assaults  of  our  enemies  be  powerless  against 
him,  if  only  he  is  convinced  that  he  has  obtained 
these  gifts  and  graces  through  the  prayers  of  his  spirit- 
ual Father,  or  this  will  act  as  a  preservative  against 
vainglory. 

In  the  third  place,  humility  has  the  effect  of  making  the 


QUALITIES  OF  THE  VIRTUE  OF  OBEDIENCE.    315 

Religious  who  is  truly  obedient  love  his  state  of  subjection 
and  dependence.  Not  for  all  the  world  would  he  abandon 
that  state,  wherein  obscurity  and  forgetfulness  of  creatures 
come  as  a  matter  of  course.  Moreover  he  has  a  secret, 
deep-rooted  aversion  to  offices  and  posts  of  authority. 
This  feeling  was  shared  by  all  the  saints.  St.  Raymund  of 
Pennafort,  General  of  the  Dominican  Order,  entreated 
his  fellow-Religious  continually  to  do  him  the  favor  of 
getting  him  deposed.  "I  assure  you,"  he  said  to  them, 
"that  I  would  far  rather  obey  the  lowest  lay-brother 
than  govern  the  whole  Order." 

Finally,  humility  incites  the  truly  obedient  monk  not 
only  to  obey  his  Superiors,  but  all  the  other  members  of 
the  Community.  This  is  a  very  perfect  degree  of  obe- 
dience; we  shall  speak  of  it  farther  on,  when  we  explain 
how  obedience  is  all-embracing. 

3.  Obedience  is  indifferent.  This  characteristic  is  the 
natural  result  of  the  act  by  which  the  true  Religious  made 
himself  a  victim  in  God's  sight,  placing  himself  in  the 
hands  of  his  Superior.  He  has  given  up  everything. 
His  will  is  dead,  or  rather  he  no  longer  holds  sway  over 
it,  and  this  being  so,  there  is  nothing  for  which  he  is  not 
prepared.  This  St.  Bernard  observes:  He  who  is  really 
obedient,  he  says,  surrenders  all  his  wishes  and  aversions, 
so  that  he  can  say:  "My  heart  is  ready,  O  God,  my  heart 
is  ready,"  ready  to  do  all  that  Thou  wiliest,  ready  to  obey 
the  slightest  sign,  to  obey  instantly  and  promptly;  ready 
to  apply  myself  to  Thy  divine  service,  ready  to  serve  my 
brethren,  ready  to  attend  to  my  own  needs,  and  ready  to 
rest  in  Thy  presence  and  contemplate  the  beauty  of  Thy 
celestial  kingdom. 

St.  Jane  Chantal  trained  her  spiritual  daughters  to  this 
complete  indifference,  and  she  bears  witness  to  their 
proficiency  in  it:  If  I  wanted  to  send  them  to  heaven,  they 
would  offer  to  climb  up  thither,  and  if  I  wanted  them  to  go 


316    QUALITIES  OF  THE  VIRTUE  OF  OBEDIENCE. 

into  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  they  would  immediately  seek 
a  means  of  descent. 

One  of  those  who  entered  most  fully  into  the  teaching 
of  the  Foundress  of  the  Visitation,  B.  Margaret  Mary, 
thus  depicts  the  model  nun:  A  good  nun  ought  to  belong 
wholly  to  God  and  to  her  Superior,  so  that  the  Superior 
can  dispose  of  her  and  employ  her  at  pleasure;  to  live 
in  entire  abandonment  to  divine  Providence  and  holy 
obedience,  wishing  for  nothing  and  refusing  nothing,  but 
holding  herself  in  constant  readiness  to  do  all  and  suffer 
all  without  a  murmur.  Such  is  the  true  paradise  of  the 
Religious. 

The  first  manner  in  which  the  Religious  shows  indif- 
ference in  his  obedience  is  by  never  thinking  that  enough 
has  been  laid  upon  him.  It  may  so  happen  that  the 
Superior  gives  such  a  number  of  orders  that  it  seems 
impossible  for  one  person  to  execute  them  all;  he  may 
appoint  us  to  several  offices  and  load  us  with  charges, 
so  that  at  first  sight  it  would  appear  as  if  we  could  not  get 
through  all  the  work.  We  think  we  have  neither  the 
strength,  nor  the  time,  nor  the  aptitude  for  so  many 
tasks.  Yet  humility,  simplicity,  supernatural  resignation 
will  come  to  our  aid,  and  that  which  it  seemed  impossible 
for  us  to  accomplish  will  be  done  without  too  great  a 
strain  on  our  powers,  or  even  achieved  with  ease. 

The  second  sign  of  indifference  in  our  obedience  is 
never  to  appear  hurried  or  agitated,  but  always  equable 
and  serene.  This  indifference  is  the  result  of  simplicity. 
Obedience  only  acts  for  God;  in  everything  it  sees  God 
alone.  It  dreads  neither  blame  nor  punishment,  at 
least  with  no  human  fear,  nor  does  it  desire  praise.  If  it 
acts  quickly  it  is  because  love  inspires  this  zeal;  but  the 
interior  posture  of  the  soul  is  calm  and  peaceful. 

Another  sign  of  indifference  in  religious  obedience  is  that 
it  inclines  the  Religious  to  conceal  his  likes  and  dislikes. 


QUALITIES  OF  THE  VIRTUE  OF  OBEDIENCE,    317 

lest  they  should  be  gratified;  he  is  very  scrupulous  in 
this  respect,  because  the  Superior,  in  the  kindness  of  his 
heart,  only  wishes  to  give  his  subjects  some  little  pleasure, 
and  thus  render  the  yoke  of  the  Rule  more  light  and  easy. 
Besides  the  Superiors  themselves,  who  find  it  very  difficult 
to  grant  all  requests,  are  much  relieved  when  they  per- 
ceive that  their  subjects  endeavor  to  suppress  any  special 
liking  for  this  or  that  act,  for  this  or  that  employment. 
This  simple  and  sincere  indifference  greatly  facilitates  the 
direction  and  administration  of  Houses;  and  on  this  account 
we  believe  it  to  be  a  source  of  special  benediction  for  the 
Religious,  since  the  relief  afforded  to  the  Superiors  is  most 
pleasing  to  the  heart  of  our  divine  Master. 

4.  Obedience  is  all-embracing.  (1)  Obedience  is  all-em- 
bracing as  far  as  persons  are  concerned.  Doubtless  a 
distinction  must  be  made  between  a  superior  and  an 
inferior  ruler,  between  one  who  holds  supreme  sway, 
and  one  who  is  invested  with  partial  authority;  but  in 
regard  to  the  simplicity,  the  sincerity,  the  interior  humility 
whereby  he  is  actuated,  the  Religious  knows  no  difference. 
In  fact  he  would  rather  prefer  to  obey  one  who  was  in  a 
lower  position  than  obey  the  Head,  because  in  that  case  his 
obedience  would  be  more  supernatural,  and  less  liable  to  be 
influenced  by  human  motives. 

Thus  the  Religious  who  has  the  true  spirit  of  obedi- 
ence loves  to  obey  those  who  are  beneath  him,  at  least 
for  the  sake  of  humility,  if  no  obligation  is  laid  upon  him. 
The  old  Fathers  used  frequently  to  remind  their  juniors 
of  St.  Paul's  maxim:  "By  the  charity  of  the  spirit  serve 
one  another"  (Gal.  v.  13).  In  the  Rule  of  St.  Pacho- 
mius,  dictated  by  an  angel,  this  exhortation  is  inserted: 
If  one  of  two  Brothers  who  are  on  a  journey  together,  sees 
a  spring  of  water,  and,  parched  with  thirst,  drinks  a 
draught  from  the  spring  without  having  previously  asked 
his  companion's  permission,  even  though  that  companion 


318    QUALITIES  OF  THE  VIRTUE  OF  OBEDIENCE. 

be  younger  then  himself,  he  does  wrong  in  drinking  with- 
out the  blessing  that  might  have  been  his. 

(2)  Obedience  is  all-embracing  in  regard  to  commands; 
it  knows  neither  restriction  nor  exception.  St.  Thomas 
says  that  this  universal  application  is  based  on  the  vow 
itself.  Thus  it  is  prepared  for  anything  and  everything, 
and  when  the  time  comes  to  execute  a  behest  of  any  kind, 
obedience  receives  it  with  docility  and  promptitude. 

(3)  Obedience  is  all-embracing  as  to  time  and  place. 
It  may  appear  that  the  novitiate  is  more  than  any  other 
the  time  when  obedience  is  to  be  practised.  But  the  Reli- 
gious who  is  truly  obedient  is  just  as  ready  and  willing  to 
obey  when  he  is  old  as  he  was  when  first  he  embraced 
the  religious  state.  Like  Our  Lord,  ''He  became  obedient 
unto  death,  even  to  the  death  of  the  cross"  (Phil.  ii.  8). 
In  the  times  of  consolation  or  aridity,  in  health  or  sickness; 
when  he  feels  the  need  of  rest,  or  when  he  longs  to  enjoy 
solitude,  he  invariably  obeys;  obedience  is  his  chief,  his 
only  Rule. 

Thus  the  Religious  obeys  always  and  everywhere:  in 
the  choir,  in  his  cell,  in  the  refectory,  at  recreation,  at 
work,  in  the  infirmary,  in  the  monastery  to  which  he 
belongs,  in  that  to  which  he  is  sent,  when  traveling  with 
his  fellow-monk,  or  when  alone  on  a  mission.  He  would 
rather,  following  Our  Lord's  example,  lose  his  life  than 
depart  from  obedience. 

What  yet  remains  to  be  said  will  make  this  truth  all 
the  more  apparent. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

on  the  qualities  of  the  virtue  of  obedience 
(continued). 

5.  Religious  obedience  is  unreserved.  This  fifth  charac- 
teristic of  obedience  deserves  special  attention,  because  it 
is  a  quality  indispensable  to  the  perfection  of  every  sacri- 
fice. When  our  adorable  Victim  came  into  the  world  He 
said  to  His  Father :  "  Behold  I  come  to  do  Thy  wUl,  0  God  " 
(Heb.  X.  9).  And  at  a  later  period  He  bears  witness  to 
Himself,  that  He  had  fulfilled  that  divine  will  to  the  least 
jot  and  tittle. 

The  entirety  of  the  sacrifice  was  so  indispensable  a 
condition  under  the  Old  Law  that  we  read  that  God 
punished  the  high  priest  Heli  with  great  severity  because 
he  allowed  his  sons  to  reserve  for  themselves  a  portion  of  the 
sacrifices  that  were  offered  in  the  Temple.  In  a  treatise 
on  "  The  Art  of  Obeying,"  Pere  Modeste  de  St.  Aimable,  of 
the  Order  of  Mount  Carmel,  makes  the  following  remarks. 

Obedience  makes  us  God's  victims,  since  it  sacrifices  us 
to  His  honor  and  His  service;  but  Religious  ought  to  be 
very  careful  to  offer  an  entire  sacrifice,  reserving  no  part 
of  the  burnt-offering ;  there  are  some  who  give  up  physical 
comforts,  but  do  not  give  up  their  own  will;  others  give 
up  their  will,  but  not  their  own  judgment;  they  think  that 
it  is  not  advisable  to  do  what  the  Superior  commands  in 
the  way  he  commands,  that  they  could  do  it  much  better 
in  another  manner,  or  that  it  would  be  far  wiser  to  do  the 

319 


320    QUALITIES  OF  THE  VIRTUE  OF  OBEDIENCE. 

contrary;  others  there  are  who  execute  the  orders  given 
them  to  the  letter,  but  do  not  observe  the  circumstances 
implied  in  the  command.  They  add  to  or  take  away 
from  it  according  to  their  own  fancy;  all  this  is  not  offering 
a  whole  oblation,  it  is  retaining  some  portion  of  the  victim. 
What  can  one  expect  from  these  divided  offerings  but 
that  they  should  call  down  the  wrath  of  God,  seeing  that 
to  give  creatures  a  share  in  the  sacrifice  is  placing  them  on 
an  equality  with  Him?  The  infinite  majesty  of  God 
requires  that  the  victim  offered  should  be  whole  and 
entire,  He  rejects  those  of  which  any  portion  is  held  back. 
This  perfect  entirety  of  the  sacrifice  consists  in  nothing 
more  or  less  than  the  punctual,  precise  accomplishment  to 
the  very  least  iota  of  the  command  laid  upon  us.  A 
Religious  who  is  inchned  to  cavil  might  sometimes  find 
some  drawbacks  to  this  humble  and  perfect  fidelity,  this 
rigorous  exactitude,  whereas  the  fervent  Religious  only 
sees  in  it  what  is  desirable,  the  perfection  of  the  spirit  of 
self-surrender,  in  which  alone  he  desires  to  live. 

6.  Religious  obedience  is  attentive.  Since  we  are  treat- 
ing of  sacrifice,  that  is  to  say  of  an  act  appertaining  to 
our  religious  vocation,  the  service  of  God,  attention  of 
heart  and  mind  is  indispensable.  The  truly  obedient 
Religious  is  attentive  in  order  to  understand  aright  the 
will  of  his  Superior,  to  grasp  its  bearing,  to  remember 
every  detail  of  it  and  to  fulfil  it  faithfully  with  scrupulous 
care.  In  this  view  he  gives  his  whole  attention  to  it 
simply  and  intently,  lest  he  should  forget  any  part  of  it; 
in  fact  some  zealous  Religious  have  been  seen  to  make  a 
note  of  the  orders  they  received,  remembering  that  under 
the  Old  Law,  the  Lord  God,  alluding  to  His  command- 
ments, said:  "Keep  My  law  as  the  apple  of  thy  eye;  bind 
it  upon  thy  fingers,  write  it  upon  the  tables  of  thy  heart'' 
(Prov.  vii.  2,  3). 

7.  Religious  obedience  is  prompt.     St.  Bernard    thus 


QUALITIES  OF  THE  VIRTUE  OF  OBEDIENCE.    321 

speaks  of  it:  One  who  is  truly  obedient  never  hesitates, 
dilatoriness  is  unknown  to  him,  he  will  not  hear  of  putting 
anything  off  until  the  morrow,  he  abhors  postponement. 
His  eyes  are  always  on  the  watch  to  see,  his  ears  to  hear, 
his  tongue  to  speak,  his  hands  to  work,  his  feet  to  run  in 
execution  of  the  command  of  his  Superior;  he  summons  all 
his  faculties  in  order  to  accomplish  the  will  of  his  Superior 
as  perfectly  as  possible. 

In  this  frame  of  mind  the  obedient  Religious  cares  for 
nothing  to  which  obedience  does  not  call  him;  he  concen- 
trates his  whole  attention  on  what  obedience  prescribes, 
and  executes  it  with  the  utmost  eagerness.  Prompt  obe- 
dience is  distinguished  by  the  following  characteristics: 

(1)  It  may  be  known  by  this,  if  the  Religious  hastens  to 
leave  whatever  he  is  doing,  even  what  he  is  doing  with  the 
greatest  application  and  pleasure,  in  order  to  fulfil  the 
commands  of  his  Superior  without  an  instant's  delay. 
Mark,  a  disciple  of  St.  Sylvanus,  acted  thus  to  the  great 
edification  of  the  monks  of  the  desert.  On  one  occasion, 
when  busily  employed  in  writing  in  his  cell,  on  hearing 
his  Superior  call  him,  he  laid  down  his  pen  without  so 
much  as  finishing,  not  a  word,  but  a  letter  (the  letter  o) 
which  he  was  in  the  act  of  forming. 

St.  John  Climacus,  alluding  to  a  monastery  in  Egypt 
which  he  had  visited,  said  how  touching  a  sight  it  was,  one 
which  inspired  him  with  respect  and  admiration,  to  see 
old  men,  whose  gray  hair  entitled  them  to  reverence,  run- 
ning like  children  to  learn  their  Superior's  orders,  and 
seeking  no  distinction  but  that  of  obedience  and  humility. 

In  like  manner  one  has  met  with  generous  souls  who 
have  sacrificed  the  spiritual  consolations  they  valued 
most,  mental  prayer,  holy  Mass,  holy  communion,  at  the 
mere  wish  of  their  Superior.  B.  Marie  de  Plncama- 
tion,  who  was  of  great  assistance  in  introducing  the  Car- 
melite nuns  into  France,  even  before  her  entrance  nUo 


322    QUALITIES  OF  THE  VIRTUE  OF  OBEDIENCE. 

religion  (where  she  insisted  on  remaining  a  lay  Sister), 
was  most  scrupulous  in  her  obedience  to  her  husband, 
M.  Acarie,  whatever  it  cost  her;  for  if  he  happened  to  send 
for  her  when  she  was  hearing  Mass,  or  on  the  point  of 
approaching  the  holy  table,  she  would  immediately  leave 
the  church  and  postpone  the  happiness  of  receiving  her 
God  until  some  later  hour,  or  even  until  another  day. 
What  an  example  for  nuns! 

(2)  The  obedience  of  the  Religious  is  seen  to  be  prompt 
if  he  anticipates  the  orders  of  his  Superior,  executing 
them  before  they  are  actually  formulated  into  words. 
The  truly  obedient  Religious,  St.  Bona  venture  declares, 
does  not  w^ait  for  his  Superior  to  speak;  it  is  enough  that 
if  he  knows  his  will,  he  hastens  to  accomplish  it. 

(3)  The  Religious  gives  proof  of  prompt  obedience  if  be 
divines  the  wishes  of  his  Superior  and  executes  them. 
Sometimes,  in  fact,  it  happens  that  the  Superior,  out  of 
consideration  for  the  age  and  the  former  services  of  a 
monk,  deems  it  more  prudent  not  to  appoint  him  positively 
to  some  post.  If  the  inferior  surmise  this,  he  is  bound  to 
offer  his  services  to  his  Superior  and  place  himself  at  his 
disposal. 

(4)  Finally,  the  Religious  gives  proof  of  prompt  obedience 
by  the  simplicity  and  exactitude  wherewith  he  individually 
carries  out  the  behests  addressed  to  the  whole  Community 
in  a  general  way.  A  Superior  may  have  good  reasons 
sometimes  for  acting  thus.  For  instance,  he  may  say: 
"One  of  you  must  go  into  the  kitchen  to  help  wash  the 
dishes,  etc."  If  a  perfect  spirit  of  obedience  prevails  in 
that  House  all  the  Religious  will  vie  with  one  another  in 
their  eagerness  and  willingness  to  undertake  the  work. 
It  is  an  edifying  sight  to  be  seen  in  fervent  Communities. 
St.  Margaret  of  Hungary  is  said  to  have  been  most  exem- 
plary in  prompt  and  cheerful  obedience. 

6.  Religious  obedience  is  cheerful,    A  holy  joy  is  a  note 


QUALITIES  OF  THE  VIRTUE  OF  OBEDIENCE.    323 

of  perfection  in  an  oblation.  Solomon  says  of  himself: 
"In  the  simplicity  of  my  heart  I  have  joyfully  offered  all 
these  things"  (I.  Par.  xxix.  17);  and  St.  Paul  declares 
that  "God  loveth  a  cheerful  giver"  (II.  Cor.  ix.  7).  An 
act  of  obedience  is  something  given  to  God;  in  taking 
the  vow  we  gave  the  tree,  now  by  each  individual  act  of 
obedience  we  give  the  fruit  of  the  tree,  and  would  our 
offering  be  acceptable  if  it  were  presented  grudgingly? 

St.  Bernard  says  that  the  joyousness  of  obedience  is 
what  color  is  to  a  picture,  giving  it  beauty  and  brilliance. 
Every  one  will  see  the  aptness  of  this  illustration.  Let 
us  therefore  make  our  sacrifices  with  interior  delight  and 
exterior  cheerfulness  and  serenity,  and  thus  give  glory  to 
God  and  satisfaction  to  our  Superiors. 

9.  Religious  obedience  is  patient.  Patience  is  indeed 
necessary,  for  our  proud,  rebellious  nature  is  slow  to  bend 
beneath  the  yoke  of  obedience.  Sometimes  one  meets 
with  Religious  who  have  been  twenty  or  thirty  years  in 
religion,  and  who  yet  find  it  hard  to  obey.  This  opposi- 
tion which  we  feel,  proceeding  from  the  evil  within  us,  is 
not  sinful;  the  only  sin  is  to  allow  it  to  conquer  us.  But 
great  patience  is  needed  to  overcome  in  this  struggle. 

It  is  more  especially  needed  if  it  should  please  God  to 
try  us  by  giving  us  a  Superior  whose  character  and  mind 
are  utterly  different  from  our  own.  It  is  still  more  needed 
if  the  command  given  is  stern,  and  the  order  difficult  of 
execution. 

Thus  St.  Bernard  says  prompt  and  perfect  obedience 
argues  no  little  courage,  and  it  can  only  become  habitual 
in  a  soul  who  has  resolutely  freed  herself  from  all  worldly 
considerations.  In  the  first  part  of  this  book  we  have 
seen  that  Thomas  k  Kempis,  in  his  instructions  to  novices 
on  the  duties  of  the  religious  life,  compares  the  courage 
required  for  perfect  obedience  to  the  courage  and  con- 
stancy of  the  martyrs. 


324    QUALITIES  OF  THE  VIRTUE  OF  OBEDIENCE. 

10.  Religious  obedience  is  filial.  This  last  quality  or 
characteristic  of  religious  obedience  is  the  most  pleasing 
and  attractive  of  all,  and  the  source  of  an  infinite  amount 
of  consolation.  In  all  religious  Houses  the  Superior  is 
called  the  Father,  or,  in  Communities  of  women,  the 
Mother  Superior.  The  old  titles  of  Abbot  and  Abbess  had 
the  same  meaning.  And  this  is  as  it  should  be;  every 
Superior  is  the  representative  of  God,  and  God  is  our 
Father.  ''You  have  not,'*  says  St.  Paul,  ''received  the 
spirit  of  bondage  again  in  fear,  but  you  have  received 
the  spirit  of  adoption  of  sons,  whereby  we  cry  Abba, 
Father'.'  (Rom.  viii.  15).  Thus  we  are  in  all  truth  the 
children  of  God.  St.  John  says:  "  Behold  what  manner  of 
charity  the  Father  hath  bestowed  upon  us  that  we  should 
be  called  and  should  be,  the  sons  of  God  "  (I.  John  iii.  1). 
Now  if  God  is  our  Father,  and  this  attribute  of  paternity 
is  the  principal  feature  of  His  relationship  to  us,  the 
Superior  who  represents  Him  is  in  the  position  of  a 
father  toward  us,  and  we  are  his  children.  He  ought 
to  know  the  duties  this  title  of  Father  lays  upon  him; 
we  know  the  nature  of  the  obedience  we  owe  him  as 
his  children.  Our  obedience  ought  to  be  filial,  and  this  in 
two  ways: 

(1)  Filial  obedience  should  induce  us  to  open  our  heart 
to  the  Superior  in  all  humility.  There  is  nothing  con- 
trary to  perfect  obedience  for  a  subject  simply  and  humbly 
to  tell  his  Superior  of  some  thought  that  arose  in  his  mind 
in  regard  to  some  order  given  to  him,  the  difficulties  and 
disagreeable  trials  involved  in  its  execution.  Superiors 
are  well  aware  that  they  are  not  infallible,  and  they  are 
glad  when  these  simple,  childlike  confessions  are  made 
to  them.  Let  not  the  Religious  shrink  from  thus  speak- 
ing his  mind  to  his  Superior,  but  if  after  he  has  done  so 
quite  frankly  the  Superior  still  insists  on  the  command 
being  carried  out,  then  it  behooves  him,  if  he  is  truly  obedi- 


QUALITIES  OF  THE  VIRTUE  OF  OBEDIENCE.    325 

ent,  to  give  way  like  a  docile  child  and  execute  the  order, 
however  great  the  sacrifice  it  may  cost  him. 

(2)  Obedience  shows  itself  to  be  filial  if  the  command 
is  obeyed  with  full  confidence  that  God's  blessing  always 
accompanies  the  orders  issued  by  the  Superior. 

Let  us  therefore  be  persuaded  that  when  difficulties 
arise  which  seem  to  afford  an  insuperable  obstacle  to  the 
accomplishment  of  the  orders  we  have  received  we  shall 
find  in  obedience  a  special  grace  which  will  enable  us  to 
surmount  them.  This  grace  will  never  fail  us.  Before 
commencing  our  task  we  had  not  this  grace;  but  when 
our  Father  who  is  in  heaven  had  spoken  by  the  lips  of 
our  visible  Father,  a  supernatural  and  effectual  assistance 
accompanied  his  words,  and  a  celestial  benediction  de- 
scended upon  us.  Remember  this:  it  is  no  exaggeration 
to  say  that  the  command  of  the  Superior  resembles  a 
sacrament,  inasmuch  as  it  communicates  a  grace  to  us, 
the  grace  we  need  to  enable  us  to  accomplish  what  is 
enjoined  upon  us. 

Filial  confidence  will  lead  us  to  tell  our  spiritual  Father 
in  a  humble  manner  what  we  like  best  and  can  do  best, 
not  with  an  eye  to  inducing  him  to  give  us  one  particular 
office  rather  than  another,  for  that  would  be  a  very  imper- 
fect and  hypocritical  act,  but  because  it  is  meet  that 
nothing  should  be  concealed  from  him  whom  we  call  our 
Father. 

Such  are  the  principal  qualities  of  religious  obedience. 
But  the  subject  is  not  yet  exhausted.  The  following 
chapter  is  only  a  continuation  of  what  has  just  been  said. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

ON    THE    SUPERNATURAL    RESPECT    WHICH    THE    RELIGIOUS 
OWES  TO   HIS   SUPERIORS. 

Possibly  many  of  the  ideas  expressed  in  this  chapter 
and  the  acts  enjoined  on  the  Religious  may  at  first  sight 
appear  pecuUar  and  exaggerated  to  some  minds.  God 
grant  that  so  unfortunate  an  impression  may  not  be  made 
on  any  of  my  readers,  for  to  take  exception  at  what  is 
said  can  not  be  considered  as  a  sign  that  grace  has  already 
set  up  its  kingdom  in  their  hearts.  But  alas!  we  live  in 
an  age  in  which  the  virtue  of  obedience  finds  little  appre- 
ciation, and  few  who  practice  it.  The  spirit  of  insubor- 
dination pervades  the  moral  atmosphere;  even  the  best 
amongst  us  are  more  or  less  infected  by  it,  and  uncon- 
sciously to  themselves  they  share  in  the  general  love  of 
Independence  of  which  we  see  the  bitter  fruits  in  society 
at  large,  in  domestic  life,  and  even  in  religion.  It  is  a 
terrible  evil,  and  unless  God  is  pleased  in  His  mercy  to 
deliver  us  from  this  scourge,  who  can  foretell  the  future 
fate  of  modern  society,  given  up  as  it  is  to  the  spirit  of 
Satan? 

Let  Religious,  however,  at  least  resist  the  inroads  of  this 
modern  tendency.  Let  holy  and  divine  obedience,  ex- 
pelled from  the  world,  find  a  sure  refuge  in  the  cloister, 
where  the  grand  and  immutable  principles  of  faith  wiii 
keep  this  sacred  deposit  intact.  These  principles,  enabHng 
the  soul  to  rise  superior  to  the  baneful  influences  of  the 

326 


RESPECT  OF  RELIGIOUS   TO  SUPERIORS.        327 

world,  will  give  her  power  to  practise  the  evangelical  vir- 
tues with  zeal  and  fervor,  to  practise  them  in  an  heroic 
degree.  Would  that  this  heroism  might  become  the  or- 
dinary, the  daily  practice  in  these  sanctuaries  in  which 
Our  Lord  loves  to  dwell.  Faith  alone  can  operate  this 
miracle. 

Observe  that  when  St.  Paul  in  his  epistles  addresses 
servants  and  exhorts  them  to  obedience  and  respect 
toward  their  masters,  he  invariably  appeals  to  the  sub- 
lime principles  of  faith  in  urging  them  to  fulfil  their  duties. 
"Servants,"  he  says,  ''be  obedient  to  them  that  are  your 
lords  according  to  the  flesh  with  fear  and  trembling,  in 
the  simplicity  of  your  heart,  as  to  Christ;  .  .  .  doing 
the  will  of  God  from  the  heart,  with  a  good  will  serving, 
as  to  the  Lord  and  not  to  men"  (Eph.  vi.  5).  If  St.  Paul 
used  language  such  as  this  in  speaking  to  mere  neophytes, 
recent  converts  from  paganism,  how  forcibly  he  would 
have  applied  the  same  arguments  in  addressing  Religious. 

Thus  taught  by  the  great  Apostle,  let  us  be  on  our 
guard  against  the  illusions  and  delusions  of  the  age,  and 
frequently  ask  ourselves  how  our  sacred  duties  can  be 
most  perfectly  performed. 

In  this  chapter  we  intend  to  speak  of  the  supernatural 
respect  due  to  Superiors.  Now  this  sentiment  of  respect 
will  induce  the  fervent  Religious  to  feel  and  act  as  follows. 

1.  He  will  conceive  a  high  opinion  of  the  virtue  and 
merit  of  his  Superior. 

St.  Bernard  asserts  that  there  are  two  kinds  of  obedience, 
obedience  of  the  body  and  obedience  of  the  heart.  For 
it  is  not  enough  to  yield  exterior  obedience  to  the  orders 
of  the  Superior,  unless  in  our  inmost  heart  we  cherish  a 
high  esteem  for  the  giver  of  the  command.  Hence  it 
follows  that  one  ought  never  to  allow  one's  mind  to  dwell 
on  the  faults  of  a  Superior,  and  if  they  force  themselves  on 
our  notice,  the  thought  must  be  banished  immediately  by 


328        RESPECT  OF  RELIGIOUS  TO  SUPERIORS. 

recalling  one  of  the  virtues  to  be  admired  in  him.  St. 
Laurence  Justinian  goes  yet  further:  he  would  have  the 
Religious  consider  that  there  is  no  one  more  holy,  more  fit 
to  direct  him  than  his  lawful  Superior.  The  old  Fathers 
used  to  quote  this  saying  of  St.  John  Climacus:  ''When 
we  have  provoked  God  to  anger,  our  Superior  by  his  prayers 
will  reconcile  us  to  Him;  but  if  we  offend  our  Superior^ 
we  shall  have  no  one  to  plead  our  cause  with  the  Most 
High." 

The  spirit  of  faith  inspires  the  Religious  with  these 
lofty  and  salutary  thoughts. 

2.  It  will  lead  him  to  inspire  the  other  members  of  the 
Community  with  a  similar  respect  and  esteem. 

To  do  this  is  to  perform  a  work  which  is  most  pleasing 
to  the  Heart  of  Jesus.  Just  as  irreverent  acts  and  speeches 
are  most  abhorrent  to  Him,  so,  on  the  other  hand,  He 
delights  to  see  His  children,  the  souls  consecrated  to  Him, 
animated  by  that  zeal  for  supernatural  obedience  and 
respect  which  makes  them  exert  themselves  in  order  to 
uphold  and  increase  these  virtues  in  the  mind  and  heart 
of  their  fellow-Religious.  It  is  related  of  the  Ven.  Mother 
Anne  de  Jesus,  an  illustrious  daughter  of  St.  Teresa, 
that  she  habitually  enjoyed  a  close  union  mth  God,  and 
innumerable  w^ere  the  graces  she  obtained  through  this 
mystic  intercourse.  Now  one  day  she  found  herself 
deprived  of  all  those  graces  and  privileges ;  her  soul  was 
a  prey  to  aridity,  desolation,  darkness,  and  distress. 
Earnestly  and  diligently  she  sought  to  discover  the  cause 
of  this  lamentable  change,  and  it  occurred  to  her  that 
she  had  heard  some  one  that  very  day  speak  in  a  depreciat- 
ing manner  of  her  Superior  without  giving  any  sign  of 
displeasure,  at  which  God,  who  is  jealous  of  His  rights, 
punished  her  for  her  lack  of  loyal  fidelity.  To  be  wanting 
in  the  respect  due  to  Superiors  is  to  wound  Him  in  His 
most  sensitive  point. 


RESPECT  OF  RELIGIOUS  TO  SUPERIORS.       329 

Let  us  hold  such  an  offence  in  abhorrence.  It  is  the 
abomination  of  desolation  in  the  holy  place.  It  appears 
almost  incredible,  yet  there  are  Religious  who  seem  un- 
friendly and  always  dissent  from  the  others,  but  if  it  is  a 
question  of  speaking  against  the  Superior  all  differences 
are  dropped,  they  are  all  of  the  same  mind.  How  plainly 
one  sees  the  work  of  the  malignant  foe  in  this!  Would 
that  Religious  who  are  desirous  of  drawing  down  the 
blessing  of  God  upon  their  monastery  were  firmly  resolved 
to  extirpate  so  dangerous  a  tendency  from  their  midst! 

3.  Not  content  with  averting  blame  from  his  Superior 
and  all  which  that  Superior  does,  the  Religious  will  allow 
himself  to  be  blamed  by  others  in  order  to  shield  his 
Superior. 

Let  us  put  a  supposed  case.  It  may  so  happen,  for 
instance,  that  the  Superior  gives  one  of  his  subjects  orders 
which  have  disastrous  consequences.  The  imperfect 
Religious  who  is  at  fault  in  the  matter  is  sure  to  say,  on 
being  reproved,  that  he  only  did  what  he  was  told  to  do, 
thus  exculpating  himself  at  the  expense  of  his  Superior. 
To  do  so  is  a  grave  act  of  infidelity  to  the  grace  of  obedience. 
The  loyal  Religious,  on  the  contrary,  keeps  silence;  he 
takes  upon  himself  the  blame  attaching  to  the  failure  and 
thus  spares  the  credit  of  his  Superior.  In  thus  acting  he 
is  stimulated  by  two  motives,  common  sense  and  faith; 
common  sense  tells  him  that  the  good  of  the  many  must 
be  preferred  to  that  of  the  individual,  while  the  spirit  of 
faith  reminds  him  that  to  a  certain  extent  the  divine  honor 
is  impugned,  when  those  who  are  God's  representatives 
are  put  in  the  wrong.  Did  not  Our  Lord  say:  **He  that 
despiseth  you,  despiseth  Me  "  ? 

It  is  indeed  important  for  Religious  who  wish  to  retain 
the  favor  of  God  to  beware  of  falling  into  so  grave  a  fault. 

4.  He  will  avoid  every  approach  to  disputing  with  his 
Superior,   not  only  about  the  orders  given  him,  which 


330       RESPECT  OF  RELIQtOVS  TO  SUPERIORS. 

would  be  an  infraction  of  the  rule  of  obedience,  but  on 
any  subject  whatsoever,  out  of  respect  for  his  authority. 

Authors  who  have  treated  the  question  of  disputes 
have  spoken  very  strongly,  and  in  this  they  were  right. 
The  following  maxim  is  attributed  to  the  heathen  philoso- 
pher, Seneca:  "To  dispute  with  one's  equal  is  a  question- 
able thing  to  do;  with  an  inferior,  it  is  disgraceful;  with 
a  superior  it  is  the  act  of  a  madman."  St.  Bonaventure 
used  to  tell  his  novices  that  disputes  of  this  nature  were 
equally  indecorous  and  disrespectful.  What  in  fact  is 
the  source  whence  dissensions  spring?  Is  it  not  self- 
conceit,  self-love,  pride  of  heart?  Now  these  feelings  are 
evil  and  always  to  be  condemned;  but  when  they  induce 
a  Religious  to  set  himself  up  in  opposition  to  one  whom 
he  ought  to  look  upon  as  God's  representative,  such  an 
act  of  presumption  merits  the  severest  reprobation  on 
the  part  of  every  one  who  has  any  idea  of  the  duties  of  the 
religious  state. 

How  praiseworthy,  on  the  contrary,  is  the  conduct  of 
the  Religious  who  enters  with  all  simplicity  into  the 
wishes  of  his  Superior.  He  may  not  perhaps  approve  of  all, 
but  he  modestly  holds  his  peace.  If  his  opinion  is  asked, 
he  gives  it.  And  if  this  opinion  is  at  variance  with  that 
of  his  Superior,  it  is  nevertheless  so  modestly  expressed, 
his  tone  and  manner  are  so  unassuming,  as  to  leave  no  doubt 
that  he  is  ready  to  submit  to  the  Superior  from  whom  he 
differs.  Thus  his  behavior  neither  gives  scandal  to  his 
brethren  nor  is  it  prejudicial  to  those  in  authority,  but 
rather  it  is  a  source  of  general  edification. 

5.  He  will  show  great  reverence  for  all  that  comes 
from  the  hand  of  his  Superior,  and  for  anything  apper- 
taining to  him.  St.  Francis  Xavier  always  read  the  letters 
he  received  from  St.  Ignatius  on  his  knees,  after  humbly 
asking  of  God  grace  to  fulfil  faithfully  the  commands  those 
missives  might  contain.    St.  Maurus  had  so  great  a  respect 


RESPECT  OF  RELIGIOUS  TO  SUPERIORS.       331 

for  his  illustrious  Father,  St.  Benedict,  that  he  desired 
the  letters  he  had  received  from  him  might  be  buried 
with  him.  It  is  related  of  the  Ven.  Mother  Agnes  of 
Jesus,  a  Carmelite  nun,  that  she  would  never  consent  to 
sit  upon  the  chair  on  which  her  Superior  had  been  sitting. 
We  could  mention  a  Community  in  which  a  kind  of  perpe- 
tuity was  given  to  this  pious  idea.  Ever  since  the  death 
of  their  venerated  Foundress,  no  one  has  occupied  her 
stall  in  the  choir.  It  has  not  remained  vacant,  however, 
for  her  loving  daughters  have  placed  a  statue  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin  on  the  spot  where  their  departed  abbess 
used  to  sit. 

I  have  noticed,  says  a  spiritual  writer,  that  some  amongst 
us,  men  of  eminent  virtue  and  specially  remarkable  for 
their  obedience,  never  pass  their  Superior's  room  without 
raising  their  biretta,  whether  he  was  there  or  not,  as  a 
mark  of  the  respect  they  felt  for  all  that  was  connected 
with  him.  A  Religious  who  is  really  worthy  of  the  name, 
does  not  merely  revere  the  person,  the  actions  of  his  Supe- 
rior: he  considers  everything  about  him  to  be  in  a  certain 
way  hallowed. 

6.  He  will  endeavor  as  far  as  he  can  to  relieve  his  Supe- 
rior of  all  work  and  trouble.  We  refer  to  exterior  work 
and  mental  worries.  Exterior  work  is  a  mark  of  servitude; 
besides,  the  head  of  a  house  has  so  many  different  things 
to  attend  to,  that  it  is  only  just  to  do  all  one  can  to  relieve 
him  of  the  burden  of  administration.  In  every  respect 
it  is  an  act  of  filial  piety  to  do  one's  utmost  to  help  him. 
St.  Bonaventure  earnestly  exhorted  his  novices  to  do  so. 

It  is  yet  more  praiseworthy  if  the  Religious  exerts  himself 
to  spare  his  Superior  the  vexations  and  grief  inseparable 
from  the  government  of  a  Community,  by  his  good  con- 
duct, his  fervor,  punctuality,  obedience,  and  proficiency 
in  all  other  virtues  of  the  religious  state.  For  the  greatest 
consolation  of  those  who  are  in  authority  is  to  see  their 


332       RESPECT  OF  RELIGIOUS  TO  SUPERIORS. 

subordinates  turning  to  good  account  the  grace  of  their 
vocation.  St.  Prosper  frequently  reminded  his  spiritual 
children  of  this.  "  You  know/'  he  said  to  them,  "  that  if 
a  load  is  carried  by  several  people,  the  weight  borne  by 
each  is  greatly  diminished.  Help  me  therefore  to  bear 
the  heavy  burden  that  rests  on  my  shoulders;  you  can 
do  this  by  the  practice  of  virtue,  for  the  virtues  or  the 
faults  of  their  subjects  alleviate  or  aggravate  the  burden 
of  those  who  are  in  authority." 

7.  He  will  not  willingly  suffer  his  Superior  to  render 
him  any  menial  or  painful  service.  The  humble  and 
obedient  Religious  can  not  bear,  out  of  respect  for  the 
sacred  office  of  his  Superior,  to  see  him  humiliating  him- 
self. St.  Peter  showed  this  reluctance,  when  Our  Lord 
was  about  to  wash  his  feet.  The  divine  Master  insisted, 
and  the  humble  apostle  yielded;  but  who  can  be  other- 
wise than  touched  by  his  previous  resistance,  prompted 
as  it  was  by  respect?  We  do  not  read  that  Judas  offered 
any  such  opposition;  perhaps  the  unhappy  apostate  felt 
a  secret  pleasure  in  seeing  his  Lord  and  Master  kneeling 
at  his  feet.  A  depraved  heart  is  capable  of  any  wicked- 
ness; a  good  and  pious  heart  feels  hurt  by  everything 
that  humiliates  one  whom  he  loves.  Now  a  fervent 
Religious  ought  to  love  his  Superior  more  than  any  one  else. 

8.  Finally,  the  Religious  will  receive  with  love  and 
gratitude  all  reprimands  on  the  part  of  the  Superior, 
regarding  them  as  a  proof  of  the  interest  he  takes  in  him. 
On  this  point  St.  Basil  remarks  very  justly:  "Look,"  he 
says,  "at  those  who  have  bodily  ailments:  they  consider 
the  physician  to  be  their  benefactor,  though  he  causes 
them  acute  pain  by  his  operating  knife,  or  administers 
nauseous  drugs;  and  should  we  not  feel  similar  love  and 
gratitude  toward  the  physicians  of  our  souls,  although,  in 
the  hope  of  curing  us  and  restoring  us  to  health,  they 
make  our  life  burdensome  to  us?" 


RESPECT  OF  RELIGIOUS  TO  SUPERIORS,        333 

It  is  as  a  recognition  of  the  important  service  rendered 
to  him  when  he  is  reproved,  and  to  show  his  gratitude 
for  the  reproof,  that  the  ReUgious  is  required,  in  most 
orders,  to  receive  the  rebuke  of  his  Superior  on  his  knees. 
But  this  act  of  humiUty  must  proceed  from  a  spirit  of  faith, 
not  from  habit,  nor  from  a  desire  to  appear  to  take  the 
correction  humbly  and  thus  gain  the  admiration  of  others, 
for  that  would  be  hypocrisy  on  his  part;  he  must  assume 
that  lowly  posture  in  all  sincerity  of  heart,  in  a  peniten- 
tial spirit,  and  feeling  that  a  kindness  is  being  shown  him. 

Such  are  the  sentiments  of  those  who  are  truly  obedient. 

We  will  not  say  more  on  the  subject  of  obedience,  not 
indeed  because  the  theme  is  exhausted,  but  because  we 
have  reached  the  limits  allotted  us  in  the  present  work. 
For  generous  souls  enough  has  already  been  said;  happy 
those  who  have  taken  literally  the  instructions  and  counsels 
contained  in  the  last  chapters  of  this  third  part.  For  them, 
we  doubt  not,  the  religious  life  will  be  all  that  the  divine 
bounty  of  God  destines  it  to  be  for  His  chosen  souls; 
light,  strength,  peace,  true  solace  in  this  valley  of  tears, 
a  sure  pledge  of  predestination,  a  foretaste  of  heaven. 


A  LETTER  OF  ST.  IGNATIUS  ON  OBEDIENCE,  IN  WHICH  THE 

MOTIVES  FOR  THIS  VIRTUE  ARE  SET  FORTH,  AND  ALSO  THE 

THREE  DEGREES  OF  PERFECTION  TO  BE  ATTAINED  IN  IT.* 

1.  It  is  a  source  of  great  comfort  to  me,  most  dear 
brethren  in  Christ,  when  I  hear  it  reported  'with  how 
earnest  desire  and  endeavor  you  strive  to  attain  to  the 
highest  perfection  of  all  virtue  and  piety,  by  His  favor, 
who  as  He  has  called  you  to  this  kind  of  life,  so  in  His 

^  This  letter,  which  is  not  generally  known,  epitomizes  and  com- 
pletes what  has  been  said  on  obedience.  It  is  scarcely  necessary 
to  remind  the  reader  with  what  great  authority  the  saint  speaks. 


334        RESPECT  OF  RELIGIOUS  TO  SUPERIORS. 

mercy  keeps  you  in  the  same,  and  directs  you  to  that 
blessed  end  whereunto  those  that  are  chosen  by  Him  do 
arrive. 

2.  And  truly,  though  I  wish  you  to  be  perfect  in  all 
spiritual  gifts  and  ornaments,  yet  especially  do  I  desire 
(as  you  have  understood  of  me  heretofore)  to  see  you 
most  eminent  in  the  Virtue  of  Obedience;  and  this  not 
only  for  the  excellent  and  singular  fruits  thereof,  which 
are  proved  by  many  testimonies  of  Holy  Writ,  and  by  ex- 
amples both  in  the  Old  and  the  New  Testaments ;  but  also 
because,  as  St.  Gregory  says,  ''Obedience  is  the  only  vir- 
tue that  plants  all  other  virtues  in  the  mind,  and  preserves 
them  after  they  are  once  planted."  ^  As  long  as  this  vir- 
tue flourishes,  all  others  doubtless  will  flourish,  and  bring 
forth  such  fruits  as  I  desire  in  your  hearts,  and  He  with 
good  reason  requires,  who  by  His  salutary  Obedience 
restored  mankind  when  afflicted  and  destroyed  through 
the  crime  of  disobedience,  becoming  obedient  unto  death, 
even  to  the  death  of  the  cross. ^ 

3.  More  easily  may  we  suffer  ourselves  to  be  surpassed 
by  other  religious  Orders  in  fasting,  watching,  and  other 
austerities  in  food  and  clothing,  which  each  according  to 
its  own  Institute  and  Rule  holily  adopts;  but  in  true 
and  perfect  Obedience  and  abnegation  of  will  and  judg- 
ment, I  greatly  desire,  dear  brethren,  that  all  those  who 
serve  God  in  this  Society  should  be  conspicuous,  and 
that  the  true  and  genuine  progeny  of  the  same  should 
as  it  were  be  distinguished  by  this  mark,  that  they  regard 
not  the  individual  whom  they  obey,  but  in  him  Christ 
our  Lord,  for  whose  sake  they  obey.  For  the  Superior 
is  not  to  be  obeyed  because  he  is  prudent,  or  virtuous, 
or  adorned  with  any  other  divine  gift  whatsoever;  but 
for  this  only,  that  he  is  the  vicegerent  of  God,  and  has 

nj.  35,  Moral,  ch.  10.  »  Philipp.  ii.  8, 


RESPECT  OF  RELIGIOUS  TO  SUPERIORS.        335 

authority  from  Him  who  says,  "He  that  heareth  you 
heareth  Me,  and  he  that  despiseth  you  despiseth  Me."^ 
Neither,  on  the  other  hand,  if  he  be  of  less  understanding 
or  prudence,  is  he  for  that  reason  to  be  the  less  obeyed, 
in  that  wherein  he  is  Superior:  since  he  represents  His 
person  whose  wisdom  can  not  be  deceived,  and  who  will 
supply  whatever  is  wanting  in  His  minister,  whether  it 
be  virtue  or  other  qualifications.  Wherefore  Christ  our 
Lord,  when  He  had  said  in  express  terms,  ''Upon  the  Chair 
of  Moses  have  sitten  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees;"  presently 
added,  "all  things  therefore  whatsoever  they  shall  say  to 
you,  observe  and  do;  but  according  to  their  works,  do 
ye  not."^ 

4.  Wherefore  I  desire  that  you  should  earnestly  en- 
deavor, with  all  care  and  diligence,  to  acknowledge  Christ 
in  every  Superior,  and  with  great  devotion  reverence  and 
obey  in  him  the  divine  Majesty.  This  will  seem  to  you 
less  strange,  if  you  consider  how  th^  Apostle  St.  Paul 
commands  us  to  obey  even  secular  Superiors  and  Gentiles 
as  Christ  Himself,  from  whom  all  well-ordered  authority 
is  derived:  for  thus  he  writes  to  the  Ephesians:  "Be 
obedient  to  them  that  are  your  temporal  lords  according 
to  the  flesh,  with  fear  and  trembhng,  in  the  simplicity  of 
your  heart,  as  to  Christ;  not  serving  to  the  eye,  as  it  were 
pleasing  men,  but  as  the  servants  of  Christ,  doing  the  will 
of  God  from  the  heart;  with  a  good- will  serving  as  to  the 
Lord  and  not  to  men."  ^  And  from  this  you  yourselves 
may  judge  of  what  account  in  his  heart  a  religious  man 
ought  to  make  his  Superior,  to  whom  he  has  given  him- 
self to  be  ruled  and  governed,  not  only  as  to  a  Superior, 
but  expressly  as  to  one  that  holds  the  place  of  Christ: 
— ^whether  he  should  look  on  him  as  man,  or  as  the  Vicar 
of  Christ. 

*  Luke  1^.  16,  '  Matt,  xxiii,  2.  '  Eph.  vi.  5. 


336        RESPECT  OF  RELIGIOUS  TO  SUPERIORS. 

5.  Moreover,  I  desire  that  this  should  be  thoroughly 
understood  and  deeply  rooted  in  your  minds,  that  it  is  but 
a  very  low  and  imperfect  kind  of  Obedience  which  con- 
sists in  the  external  execution  only  of  what  is  commanded; 
and  that  it  is  not  worthy  of  the  name  of  virtue,  unless  it 
pass  to  a  further  degree,  making  the  will  of  the  Superior 
our  will,  and  so  agreeing  with  the  same,  that  not  only  is 
there  external  fulfilment  of  the  conmiand,  but  also  agree- 
ment of  will;  that  so  both  may  be  of  one  mind  in  willing 
and  not  willing  the  same  thing.  And  for  this  reason  it  is 
said  in  Holy  Writ,  "Obedience  is  better  than  sacrifices."  * 
For,  as  St.  Gregory  teaches  us,  "In  victims  the  flesh  of 
another,  but  in  obedience  our  own  will  is  killed."  ^  And 
because  this  part  of  the  soul  is  so  excellent,  hence  it  is 
that  the  offering  of  it  to  Our  Lord  and  Creator,  through 
Obedience,  is  to  be  highly  valued. 

6.  Oh!  in  how  great  and  dangerous  an  error  are  not  only 
they  involved,  who  in  things  appertaining  to  flesh  and 
blood,  but  such  also  as  in  things  otherwise  very  holy  and 
spiritual,  as  fasting,  prayer,  or  other  good  works,  think  it 
lawful  to  swerve  from  the  will  and  appointment  of  their 
Superior:  let  them  give  ear  to  what  Cassian  wisely  remarks, 
in  the  Conference  of  Daniel  the  Abbot,  saying,  "It  is  one 
and  the  selfsame  kind  of  disobedience,  whether  through 
eagerness  to  work,  or  desire  of  ease,  one  breaks  the  com- 
mand of  the  Superior,  and  as  prejudicial  to  go  against  the 
statutes  of  the  Monastery  out  of  sloth  as  out  of  watchful- 
ness; and  finally  it  is  as  bad  to  transgress  the  precept  of 
the  Abbot  to  read,  as  to  contemn  it  to  sleep."  Holy  was 
the  activity  of  Martha,  holy  the  contemplation  of  Mary 
Magdalene,  and  holy  the  penitence  and  tears  wherewith 
she  watered  the  feet  of  Christ  our  Lord:  but  all  this  had 
to  be  done  in  Bethania,  which  word  is  interpreted  the 

» I.  Kings  XV.  22.  »  L.  35,  Moral  ch.  10. 


RESPECT  OF  RELIGIOUS  TO  SUPERIORS,       337 

house  of  Obedience,  whereby  Our  Lord  would  signify  to 
us  as  St.  Bernard  says:  "that  neither  devotedness  to 
good  works,  nor  the  quiet  of  holy  contemplation,  nor  the 
tears  of  the  penitent,  could  have  been  pleasing  to  Him 
outside  Bethania."  * 

7.  Wherefore,  dear  Brethren,  lay  aside  wholly,  as  far 
as  you  can,  your  own  wills:  hand  over  freely  and  dedicate 
to  your  Oeator  in  His  ministers  the  freedom  He  Himself 
has  bestowed  upon  you.  Consider  it  no  small  advantage 
of  your  free-will,  that  you  are  able  to  give  it  back  fully, 
through  Obedience,  to  Him  from  whom  you  received  it. 
And  by  so  doing,  you  not  only  do  not  lose,  but  rather 
increase  and  perfect  it:  since  by  this  means  you  direct  all 
your  wills,  by  that  most  certain  rule  of  rectitude,  the 
will  of  God  interpreted  to  you  by  him  who  governs  you  in 
the  place  of  God. 

8.  And  so  you  must  be  very  careful  never  to  seek  to 
wrest  the  Superior's  will  (which  you  ought  to  hold  for  the 
will  of  God  Himself)  to  your  own:  for  this  would  be,  not 
to  conform  your  will  to  God's,  but  to  endeavor  to  rule 
His  will  by  yours,  inverting  the  order  of  His  divine  wis- 
dom. Oh !  how  great  the  error  is,  of  those  whom  self-love 
has  blinded,  to  fancy  they  are  obedient,  when  by  some 
means  or  other  they  have  brought  the  Superior  to  that 
which  they  desire.  Listen  to  St.  Bernard,  a  man  emi- 
nently experienced  in  this  matter:  "Whosoever,"  says  he, 
"endeavors  either  openly  or  covertly  to  have  his  spiritual 
Father  enjoin  him  what  he  himself  desires,  he  deceives 
himself  if  he  flatters  himself  he  is  a  true  follower  of  obedi- 
ence: for  in  that  matter  he  does  not  obey  his  Superior, 
but  rather  his  Superior  obeys  him."  ^  It  follows,  there- 
fore, that  whoever  is  desirous  of  reaching  the  virtue  of 
Obedience,  should  rise  to  this  second  degree  of  Obedience, 

*  Serai,  ad  Milit.  Tempi,  ch.  13.        '  Serm.  de  trib.  Ordin.  Eccl. 


338        RESPECT  OF  RELIGIOUS  TO  SUPERIORS, 

and  not  merely  fulfil  the  Superior's  command,  but  also 
make  the  Superior's  will  his  own,  or  rather  put  off  his  own 
will,  that  he  may  put  on  the  will  of  God,  declared  to  him 
by  his  Superior. 

9.  But  he  who  wishes  to  sacrifice  himself  wholly  to  God, 
besides  his  will  must  also  offer  up  his  understanding  (which 
is  the  third  and  highest  degree  of  obedience),  and  not 
only  have  the  same  will,  but  also  the  same  opinion  as  his 
Superior;  and  submit  his  own  judgment  to  his,  as  far 
as  a  devout  will  can  bend  the  imderstanding.  For  though 
this  power  of  the  soul  is  not  endowed  with  that  freedom 
which  gives  the  will  its  strength,  and  is  naturally  drawn  to 
assent  to  whatever  is  represented  to  it  as  true,  yet,  never- 
theless, in  many  things,  where  the  evidence  of  known  truth 
does  not  force  it,  it  may  by  the  strength  of  the  will  be 
inclined  more  one  way  than  another.  When  this  happens, 
whoever  makes  profession  of  Obedience  ought  to  lean 
toward  the  judgment  of  the  Superior.  For  Obedience 
being  a  holocaust,  in  which  the  whole  man,  absolutely 
without  reserve,  is  offered  up  to  his  Creator  and  Lord 
in  the  fire  of  charity,  through  the  hands  of  His  ministers, 
and  as  it  is  also  a  thorough  renunciation  by  which  a 
religious  man  of  his  own  accord  abandons  all  his  own 
rights,  and  devotes  and  formally  transfers  himself  to 
God,  to  be  possessed  and  governed  by  di\T[ne  Providence 
through  the  guidance  of  his  Superior;  it  can  not  be  denied 
that  Obedience  comprises  not  only  execution,  by  which  a 
man  does  what  is  commanded,  and  the  will,  by  which  he 
does  it  willingly,  but  also  the  judgment,  so  that  whatever 
the  Superior  commands  and  thinks  good,  seems  just  and 
reasonable  to  the  inferior,  so  far,  as  I  have  said,  as  the  will 
can  by  its  force  bend  the  understanding. 

10.  Would  that  this  obedience  of  mind  and  judgment 
were  as  well  understood  and  practised  by  men,  as  it  is 
pleasing  to  God,  and  necessary  for  all  who  live  in  religion  I 


RESPECT  OF  RELIGIOUS  TO  SUPERIORS.        339 

For,  as  in  celestial  bodies  and  globes,  to  the  end  that  one 
may  influence  and  move  another,  it  is  necessary  that  with 
a  certain  adaptation  and  order  the  inferior  globe  be  sub- 
ject to  the  superior;  so  amongst  men,  when  one  is  moved 
by  another's  authority  (as  happens  in  Obedience),  it  is 
necessary  that  he  who  depends  upon  another  be  submissive 
and  compliant,  to  the  end  that  he  may  derive  his  effective- 
ness from  him  who  commands.  Now  this  system  of  sub- 
missiveness  and  compliance  can  not  last  imless  the  will 
and  judgment  of  the  inferior  agree  with  the  will  and 
judgment  of  the  Superior. 

11.  Moreover,  if  we  regard  the  final  cause  of  Obedience, 
as  our  will,  so  also  our  judgment  may  be  deceived  as  to 
what  is  good  for  us;  wherefore  if,  lest  our  will  should  stray, 
we  conform  it  to  the  will  of  the  Superior,  our  understand- 
ing is  also  to  be  conformed  to  his,  in  order  that  it  may  not 
be  deceived:  "Lean  not  upon  thy  own  prudence,"*  says 
the  Holy  Scripture.  And  even  in  worldly  affairs,  those 
who  are  wise  judge  it  to  be  the  part  of  a  truly  prudent 
man  not  to  trust  his  own  wisdom  at  all,  especially  in  his 
own  cause,  in  which,  when  the  mind  is  troubled,  one  can 
hardly  be  a  good  judge.  And  if  in  our  own  affairs  we 
are  to  prefer  the  judgment  and  advice  of  another,  even 
when  not  our  Superior,  before  our  own;  how  much  more 
the  advice  and  judgment  of  the  Superior,  to  whom  we 
have  handed  over  the  direction  of  ourselves  as  to  one  who 
is  God's  vicegerent,  and  interpreter  of  the  divine  will! 
And  undoubtedly  in  the  case  of  spiritual  persons  the 
greater  cautiousness  is  necessary,  as  the  danger  of  the 
spiritual  path  is  greater,  when  one  runs  along  it  without 
the  bridle  of  discreet  advice.  A  subject  on  which  Cassian, 
in  the  conference  of  Abbot  Moses,  says,  much  to  our 
purpose:   "By  no  other  vice  does  the  devil  drag  a  monk 

*  Prov.  iii.  5. 


340        RESPECT  OF  RELIGIOUS  TO  SUPERIORS. 

headlong,  and  bring  him  to  death  sooner,  than  by  persuad- 
ing him  to  neglect  the  advice  of  the  Elders,  and  trust  to 
his  own  judgment  and  determination."^ 

12.  Besides,  unless  we  have  this  Obedience  of  the 
understanding,  it  is  impossible  that  either  the  consent  of 
our  will,  or  execution,  will  be  such  as  they  ought  to  be: 
for  nature  itself  has  so  ordained,  that  the  appetites  of  the 
soul  must  follow  its  perceptions,  and  the  will,  without 
using  violence,  can  not  long  obey  in  spite  of  the  judgment. 
And  if  there  be  any  who  for  a  time  obey,  under  the  common 
idea  that  they  must  obey,  even  when  the  order  is  erroneous; 
yet  certainly  this  can  not  be  firm  and  constant,  and  so 
perseverance  fails,  or  at  least  the  perfection  of  Obedience, 
which  consists  in  obeying  promptly  and  with  alacrity; 
for  there  can  be  no  alacrity  and  diligence  where  there  is  dis- 
sent of  heart  and  mind.  There  is  an  end  to  earnestness 
and  speed  of  execution,  when  we  doubt  whether  it  be 
useful  or  no  to  do  what  we  are  ordered:  there  is  an  end 
to  the  renowned  simplicity  of  blind  Obedience,  when  we 
inwardly  call  in  question  the  rectitude  of  the  command, 
and  perhaps  even  condemn  the  Superior,  because  he  bids 
us  to  do  what  we  do  not  find  very  pleasant;  there  is  an 
end  to  humility;  for  although  on  the  one  hand  we  obey, 
yet,  on  the  other,  we  prefer  ourselves  to  our  Superior; 
an  end  to  fortitude  in  difficult  enterprises,  and  (to  embrace 
all  in  one  word)  there  is  an  end  to  the  whole  force  and 
dignity  of  this  virtue.  And  in  their  place  arise  pain,  trouble, 
reluctance,  wearinesss,  murmurings,  excuses,  and  other  by 
no  means  trifling  vices,  by  which  the  value  and  merit  of 
Obedience  are  wholly  destroyed.  And  so  St.  Bernard  says 
of  those  who  take  unpleasant  commands  in  bad  part: 
"If  you  begin  to  be  annoyed  at  this,  to  judge  your  Superior, 
to  murmur  in  your  heart,  though  outwardly  you  fulfil 

» Coll.  ii.  11. 


RESPECT  OF  RELIGIOUS  TO  SUPERIORS.        341 

'.vhat  is  commanded,  this  is  not  the  virtue  of  patience,  but 
a  cloak  of  your  malice."  ^  And  if  peace  and  tranquillity 
of  mind  are  sought,  he  certainly  shall  never  enjoy  them  who 
has  within  himself  the  cause  of  disquiet  and  trouble,  to  wit, 
the  disagreement  of  his  own  judgment  with  the  law  of 
Obedience. 

13.  And  therefore  for  the  maintenance  of  union,  which 
is  the  bond  of  every  society,  the  Apostle  earnestly  exhorts 
all  ^  to  think  and  say  the  same  thing,  that,  by  the  agree- 
ment of  their  wills  and  judgments,  they  may  be  mutually 
comforted  and  sustained.  Now  if  the  members  and  the 
head  ought  to  be  of  one  and  the  same  sentiment,  you  may 
easily  judge  whether  it  is  fairer  that  the  head  should  agree 
with  the  members,  or  the  members  with  the  head.  It  is 
plain,  then,  by  what  has  hitherto  been  said,  how  necessary 
this  Obedience  of  the  understanding  is. 

14.  But  how  perfect  it  is  in  itself,  and  how  pleasing  to 
God,  is  shown  by  this:  first,  because  thereby  the  most 
excellent  and  precious  part  of  man  is  consecrated  unto 
Him;  secondly,  because  the  obedient  man  is  by  this 
means  made  a  living  holocaust  most  pleasing  to  His 
divine  Majesty,  since  he  keeps  nothing  whatever  of  his 
own;  lastly,  by  reason  of  the  great  difficulty  of  the  com- 
bat; for  the  obedient  man  overcomes  himself  for  God's 
sake,  and  resists  that  natural  inclination  which  is  inbred 
in  all  men,  to  embrace  and  follow  their  own  opinion. 
Hence  it  is  that,  though  the  special  function  of  Obedience 
seems  to  be  to  perfect  the  will,  inasmuch  as  it  makes  it 
prompt  and  ready  at  the  Superior's  call;  yet  it  must  also 
belong  to  the  understanding,  as  we  have  declared,  and 
bring  it  to  be  of  the  same  opinion  in  all  things  as  the 
Superior,  that,  striving  with  all  the  forces  of  our  will  and 
understanding,  we  may  come  to  speed  and  fulness  of 
execution. 

i  Rom.  XV.  5;  I.  Cor.  i.  10;  II.  Cor.  xiii.  11.        ^^MlippTiiT^ 


342        RESPECT  OF  RELIGIOUS  TO  SUPERIORS. 

15.  I  seem,  dear  Brethren,  to  hear  you  say  that  you 
now  no  longer  doubt  the  necessity  of  this  virtue,  but  that 
you  earnestly  desire  to  know  how  you  may  attain  to  its 
perfection.  To  this  question  I  answer  with  St.  Leo: 
"Nothing  is  difficult  to  the  humble,  and  nothing  hard  to 
the  meek:"  so  that  if  you  are  not  wanting  in  humility  or 
meekness,  assuredly  God  will  not  be  wanting  in  goodness, 
to  help  you  to  perform  what  you  have  promised  Him, 
not  patiently  only  but  willingly. 

16.  And  now  I  put  before  you  three  things  in  particular 
which  greatly  help  to  the  attainment  of  this  Obedience  of 
understanding.  The  first  is:  that,  as  I  said  in  the  begin- 
ning, you  do  not  behold  in  the  person  of  your  Superior 
a  man  subject  to  errors  and  miseries,  but  Christ  Himself, 
who  is  supreme  Wisdom,  boundless  Goodness,  and  infinite 
Charity,  who  neither  can  be  deceived,  nor  wishes  to  deceive 
you.  And  because  you  are  intimately  conscious  that  you 
took  this  yoke  of  Obedience  upon  you  for  the  love  of 
God,  to  the  end  that  you  might,  in  following  the  Superior's 
will,  more  certainly  follow  the  divine  Will;  do  not  doubt 
that  the  faithful  charity  of  Our  Lord  continually  governs 
and  leads  you  by  right  ways,  by  the  ministry  of  those 
whom  He  has  set  over  you.  And  so  hear  the  voice  and 
orders  of  the  Superior,  no  otherwise  than  as  the  voice  of 
Christ,  for  the  Apostle,  too,  writing  in  the  same  sense  to 
the  Colossians,  and  exhorting  subjects  to  obey  their  lords, 
says:  "Whatsoever  you  do,  do  it  from  the  heart,  as  to  the 
Lord  and  not  to  men,  knowing  that  you  shall  receive  of 
the  Lord  the  reward  of  inheritance;  serve  ye  the  Lord 
Christ.''  *  And  St.  Bernard:  "Whether  God,  or  man  the 
vicar  of  God,  commands  anything,  we  must  obey  with 
equal  diligence,  and  submit  with  equal  reverence,  when 
however  man  commands  nothing  that  is  contrary  to  God."^ 
And  thus  if  you  do  not  look  upon  man  with  the  eyes  of  the 

'      1  Coll.  iii.  23,  24.  '  Tract,  de  Priccep.  et  Dispen.  ch.  xii. 


RESPECT  OF  RELIGIOUS  TO  SUPERIORS.       343 

body,  but  upon  God  with  those  of  the  soul,  it  will  certainly 
not  be  hard  to  conform  your  will  and  judgment  to  that 
rule  of  your  actions  which  you  have  yourselves  chosen. 

17.  Another  plan  is,  that  you  always  seriously  endeavor 
to  defend  within  yourselves  J^our  Superior's  command  or 
opinion,  and  by  no  means  to  argue  against  it.  And  to 
this  it  will  help,  to  be  well  affected  toward  whatever  he 
orders;  for  so  you  will  come  to  obey,  not  only  without 
trouble,  but  even  with  pleasure  and  joy.  For,  as  St.  Leo 
says,  "It  is  not  hard  to  serve, where  we  love  what  is  com- 
manded." * 

18.  The  last  method  of  submitting  the  understanding 
is  at  once  more  easy  and  secure,  and  also  adopted  by  the 
holy  Fathers,  viz.,  to  determine  within  yourselves  that 
whatever  the  Superior  commands  is  the  commandment 
and  will  of  almighty  God  Himself:  and  as  to  believe  what 
the  Catholic  faith  proposes,  you  at  once  bend  all  the 
forces  of  your  mind  to  assent  thereunto:  so  to  do  what- 
ever your  Superior  commands,  you  must  be  borne  by  a 
kind  of  blind  impulse  of  your  will,  eager  to  obey,  without 
stopping  to  argue  at  all.  So  we  may  believe  Abraham  ^ 
did,  when  bid  to  sacrifice  his  son  Isaac:  so  in  the  time  of 
the  New  Testament,  did  some  of  those  holy  Fathers  whom 
Cassian  speaks  of;  as  John  the  Abbot, ^  who  did  not  con- 
sider whether  what  was  commanded  was  profitable  or 
not,  as  when  with  such  great  and  continued  labor,  for  a 
whole  year  together  he  watered  a  dry  stick;  nor  whether 
it  could  be  done  or  not,  as  when  he  endeavored  so  heartily 
to  move  a  huge  rock,  which  many  men  together  could 
not  have  stirred.  This  kind  of  Obedience  we  see  was 
sometimes  confirmed  by  miracle.  For,  to  say  nothing  of 
others,  whom  you  will  remember,  Maurus,  St.  Benedict's 

*  Serm.  4-  de  jejun.  sep.  mensis.  '  Gen.  xxii. 

'  L.  4,  ch.  xxiv.  et  xxvi. 


344       RESPECT  OF  RELIGIOUS  TO  SUPERIORS. 

disciple/  went  by  command  of  his  Superior  into  a  lake, 
and  did  not  sink.  Another,^  being  bid  by  his  Superior 
to  bring  a  lioness  to  him,  took  hold  of  her  and  brought  her 
to  him.  This  method,  then,  of  submitting  our  own  judg- 
ment, so  as  without  questioning,  to  sanction  and  approve 
within  ourselves  whatever  the  Superior  commands,  is  not 
only  a  common  practice  among  holy  men,  but  also  to 
be  imitated  by  those  who  are  in  pursuit  of  perfect  Obedi- 
ence, in  all  things  not  evidently  coupled  with  sin. 

19.  Nor  are  you  hindered  by  this,  if  anything  occurs 
to  you  different  from  the  Superior's  opinion,  and  it  seems 
(after  consulting  God  in  prayer)  that  it  ought  to  be  de- 
clared, from  laying  your  view  before  him:  but  lest  self- 
love  and  your  own  judgment  should  deceive  you  in  this, 
the  precaution  is  to  be  taken  of  keeping  your  mind,  both 
before  and  after  making  the  proposal,  quite  calm  and 
ready,  not  only  to  take  up  or  lay  aside  the  matter  in 
question,  but  also  to  approve  and  think  better  whatever 
seems  good  to  the  Superior. 

20.  Now  what  I  have  said  of  Obedience,  is  equally  to 
be  observed  by  every  private  person  toward  his  immediate 
Superior,  and  by  Rectors  and  local  Superiors  toward  the 
Provincial,  by  Provincials  toward  the  General,  and  by 
the  General  toward  him  whom  God  has  set  over  him, 
viz.,  His  Vicar  upon  earth:  so  that  a  perfect  distinction 
of  ranks,  and  consequently  peace  and  charity,  may  be 
preserved;  without  which  the  right  government  neither 
of  our  Society,  nor  of  any  other  Congregation,  can  be 
maintained.  For  it  is  in  this  way  that  divine  Providence 
disposes  all  things  gently,  and  brings  them  to  their  ap- 
pointed ends,  the  lowest  by  the  midmost,  and  the  mid- 
most by  the  highest.  Hence,  for  example,  that  series  of 
angehc  hierarchies  subordinate  one  to  another,  and  that 

>  Greg.  2,  Dial.  ch.  vii.        '  In  vit.  PP.  L.  5,  libel.  14,  n.  4 


RESPECT  OF  RELIGIOUS  TO  SUPERIORS.       345 

perfect  harmony  of  the  celestial  and  all  other  moving 
bodies,  each  in  its  own  fixed  place  and  position;  the  revo- 
lutions and  movements  of  which  proceed  in  due  order, 
from  one  supreme  mover  by  degrees  unto  the  lowest. 
The  same  we  see  upon  earth,  in  every  State  which  is  regu- 
lated by  good  laws,  and  especially  in  the  Ecclesiastical 
Hierarchy,  whose  members  and  functions  are  all  derived 
from  one  general  Vicar  of  Christ  our  Lord;  and  the  more 
exactly  this  arrangement  and  order  is  kept,  the  more 
orderly  and  better  is  the  whole  government;  and  on  the 
other  hand,  no  one  can  fail  to  see  what  grievous  damage 
has  been  inflicted  on  many  societies  of  men  by  its  neglect. 
And  therefore  in  this  Society,  of  which  Our  Lord  has 
committed  to  me  some  charge  and  care,  I  strongly  desire 
this  virtue  may  be  practised  as  diligently,  and  flourish 
as  perfectly,  as  if  the  good  and  safety  of  our  whole  Society 
consisted  in  it. 

21.  Wherefore,  that  my  Epistle  may  end  where  it 
began,  I  most  earnestly  beseech  you  for  Christ  our  Lord's 
sake,  who  gave  Himself  to  us  not  only  as  a  Master,  but 
also  as  an  Example  of  Obedience,  that  you  will  strain 
every  nerve  to  attain  this  virtue;  and  that  with  a  greedy 
appetite  for  so  glorious  a  victory,  you  will  endeavor  to 
overcome  yourselves,  that  is,  to  conquer  and  subdue  the 
highest  and  most  difficult  part  of  your  soul,  your  will, 
I  mean,  and  judgment;  in  order  that  the  solid  and  true 
knowledge  and  love  of  God  Almighty  our  Lord,  may  draw 
your  whole  souls  to  Him,  and  rule  and  govern  you  in  the 
whole  course  of  this  life  and  pilgrimage,  until  at  length  He 
brings  you,  and  many  others  assisted  by  your  labors  and 
example,  to  the  last  happy  end  of  bliss  everlasting. 

I  commend  myself  earnestly  to  your  prayers  to  God. 
From  Rome,  the  26th  of  March,  1553. 


part  W. 
®n  Communtti?  %itc. 


CHAPTER  I. 

ON  WHAT  IS  TO   BE  UNDERSTOOD  BY  COMMUNITY  LIFE. 

Community  life  is  the  life  which  in  all  things  and  at  all 
times  is  conformed  to  the  monastic  Rules.  These  Rules 
have  fixed  and  determined  everything.  The  observances 
of  each  day,  each  week  are  marked  out.  There  are  the 
employments  and  exercises  in  which  all  the  Community 
take  part ;  there  are  others  which  are  only  for  some  mem- 
bers of  the  Community,  suited  to  their  rank,  their  office, 
the  state  of  their  health.  All  that  concerns  the  food, 
the  clothes  of  the  Religious,  the  furnishing  of  the  cells 
is  minutely  prescribed.  The  times  of  silence  in  the  clois- 
ter and  the  intercourse  to  be  permitted  with  persons 
living  in  the  world  are  likewise  regulated  with  thought- 
ful care  by  the  wise  founders  of  the  various  Orders.  In 
short,  everything  is  foreseen  and  provided  for. 

The  common  life  consists  in  keeping  closely  to  what  is 
decreed  and  ordained  on  diverse  points  and  in  diverse 
circumstances. 

Those  who  love  Community  life  abhor  exemptions,  shim 
singularity  like  the  plague,  look  on  alleviations  as  punish- 

.U6 


ON  COMMUNITY  LIFE,  347 

ments,  although  they  accept  them  gratefully  when  this 
is  required  by  obedience.  They  delight  and  find  their 
happiness  in  the  tranquil  uniformity  which  is  the  result 
of  the  regularity,  the  perfect  order  which  prevails  in  the 
cloister.  The  Superior  knows  that  the  common  life  is 
as  much  for  him  as  for  the  lowest  of  his  subordinates, 
and  the  inferior  rejoices  in  the  consciousness  that  he  will 
never  have  to  depart  from  this  unvarying  and  blissful 
rule  (as  the  Superior  may  perhaps  have  to  do). 

With  a  view  to  arousing  the  love  of  Community  life 
within  his  heart,  the  Religious  often  reminds  himself  that 
it  is  simply  and  entirely  the  life  God  wills  for  him,  and 
that  without  its  pale  his  salvation  would  be  imperilled, 
self-love,  sensuality,  and  pride  encouraged,  and  true  peace 
would  be  sought  in  vain. 

St.  Bernard  has  well  said:  "  There  is  nothing  so  pleasing 
to  God  as  common  life,  common  interests,  and  affections.^' 

Father  Balthasar  Alvarez,  who  was  remarkable  for  his 
spirit  of  discernment  and  enlightened  wisdom,  used  to 
say  that  to  live  with  the  Community  and  as  the  Community, 
was  the  sacrifice  most  acceptable  to  God,  and  the  most 
fertile  source  of  benediction.  His  biographers  relate  that 
if  any  one  asked  him  to  impose  some  extraordinary  pen- 
ance upon  him,  he  would  answer:  "Follow  all  the  exer- 
cises of  the  Community,  without  exemptions  or  privileges. 
Better  far  to  live  not  quite  so  long,  or  not  enjoy  such  good 
health,  and  do  all  with  the  Community,  than  five  to  a 
great  age  in  robust  health  by  means  of  dispenses  and 
privileges  which  excite  jealousy  in  others."  As  for  him, 
he  implored  of  God  this  grace,  which  he  considered  a 
very  great  one:  power  to  follow  the  Community  life  unto 
the  last ;  and  although  he  had  many  bodily  infirmities,  he 
concealed  them  in  order  not  to  fall  out  of  the  ranks.  Ex- 
perience had  taught  him  that  the  Religious  who  is  scrupu- 
lous in  conforming  to  the  common  life  receives  help  from 


348  ON  COMMUNITY  LIFE, 

God,  makes  progress  in  virtue,  and  finds  time  for  every- 
thing, for  his  spiritual  exercises  and  his  ordinary  employ- 
ments. 

Thus  our  own  spiritual  welfare  requires  us  to  adhere 
closely  to  the  Community  life,  as  a  shipwrecked  mariner 
chngs  to  a  plank.  None  can  tell  to  what  perils  he  would 
be  exposed  without  this  safeguard. 

Sometimes  it  happens  that  individuals  who  had  a  really 
good  vocation,  and  who  displayed  great  fervor  in  the 
novitiate  and  during  the  first  few  years  subsequent  to 
their  profession,  have  left  their  Order  and  gone  back  to 
the  world.  What  is  the  chief  cause  of  such  an  unhappy 
act?  It  is  their  want  of  courage  and  perseverance  in  con- 
forming to  the  Community  life ;  their  self-indulgence  which 
has  led  them  to  ask  for  dispenses  without  adequate  cause; 
it  is  the  exemptions  and  privileges  which  a  weak  Superior 
has  granted  them.  Nor  are  these  the  only  causes;  some- 
times even  in  the  most  exemplary  Commimities  one  meets 
with  those  strangely  constituted  minds  who  only  attach 
importance  to  actions  out  of  the  common;  they  lead  a 
separate  life,  they  are  addicted  to  the  performance  of  acts 
of  penance  or  of  zeal  which  are  not  authorized  by  obedi- 
ence, and  thus  they  leave  the  beaten  track,  and  their 
vocation  itself  is  endangered. 

This  is  a  great,  a  very  great  misfortune;  and  the  cause 
of  it  is  told  in  a  few  sad  but  true  words :  Grace  no  longer 
abides  with  these  foolish,  deluded  Religious.  For  a  time 
Nature,  which  is  full  of  pride,  and  delights  in  these  eccen- 
tricities because  they  afford  food  for  that  same  pride: 
Nature,  I  say,  is  sustained  by  her  own  strength,  but 
presently  her  strength  is  exhausted;  she  then  feels  the 
need  of  change,  and  imagines  that  her  environment  is 
no  longer  congenial  and  suitable  for  her.  From  this  con- 
viction to  the  relinquishment  of  her  early  vocation  there 
is  but  a  step,  a  step  soon  taken  unless  some  extraordinary 


ON  COMMUNITY  LIFE.  349 

grace  enlightens  the  unhappy  soul  who  is  the  sport  of  an 
illusion,  showing  her  the  abyss  whither  her  irregularities 
are  hurrying  her. 

But,  it  may  be  said,  the  lives  of  the  saints,  even  of 
saints  who  lived  in  a  Community,  abound  in  incidents 
which  show  that  they  did  not  fear  extraordinary  ways, 
and  often,  under  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  prac- 
tised the  greatest,  most  peculiar  austerities. 

To  this  we  answer:  In  the  first  place,  St.  John  bids  us 
"try  the  spirits,  if  they  be  of  God"  (I.  John  iv.  1).  It 
can  not  be  doubted,  says  a  spiritual  writer,  that  the  saints 
would  never  have  become  saints  if  they  had  not  acquiesced 
in  the  divine  impulse  which  urged  them  to  practise  ex- 
ceptional and  singular  virtues;  but  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
Superior,  before  giving  his  consent,  to  take  pains  to  ascer- 
tain the  spirit  which  actuates  the  Religious  in  aspiring 
to  these  virtues;  his  obedience  in  abandoning  them  or 
obstinacy  in  clinging  to  them  will  be  the  criterion.  He 
ought,  in  the  second  place,  to  beware  of  appearing  to 
think  highly  of  these  unusual  favors,  and  considering 
these  exceptional  virtues  to  be  an  undoubted  mark  of 
sanctity;  for  thereby  he  would  incur  the  risk  of  laying 
a  snare  for  the  humility  of  the  recipient  of  these  favors, 
of  encouraging  others  who  are  not  called  to  the  same 
way  in  deluding  themselves,  perhaps  even  of  exciting 
jealousy  amongst  the  rest  of  the  Community.  Women 
in  general  are  apt  to  be  greatly  elated  by  these  ex- 
traordinary gifts;  they  must  be  reminded  that  St.  Paul 
places  charity  before  the  most  sublime  and  rare  gifts, 
and  that  the  fundamental  principle  which  it  is  all  im- 
portant to  establish  is  the  sanctity  that  the  Rule  requires 
and  Community  life  produces. 

2.  Under  no  circumstances  must  the  signal  graces 
bestowed  on  the  saints  be  allowed  to  prove  prejudicial 
to  the  common  good.     Should  it  be  so,  we  must  conclude 


350  ON  COMMUNITY  LIFE. 

that  God  requires  them  to  leave  their  monastery,  and  al- 
though this  rarely  occurs,  yet  it  is  known  to  have  been 
the  case.  St.  Pachomius,  acting  under  divine  inspiration, 
begged  St.  Macarius  to  retire  from  the  Community,  because 
he  feared  lest  the  extraordinary  life  to  which  that  eminent 
servant  of  God  was  called  might  be  detrimental  to  the 
spirit  of  regularity  which  prevailed  amongst  his  monks; 
and  the  same  occurred  in  the  case  of  St.  Simeon  Stylites, 
when  his  Superior  discovered  that  holy  recluse  to  be 
called  to  act  in  an  exceptional  manner. 

But  as  we  have  said,  such  things  are  rare,  and  the  usual 
effect  of  extraordinary  graces,  wonderful  virtues,  signal 
favors  from  on  high,  is  to  confirm  the  desire  for  com- 
munity life.  Witness  this  passage  from  the  autobiography 
of  B.  Margaret  Mary.     She  writes  thus: 

"When  the  time  of  my  profession  drew  near,  they  set 
upon  me  again,  telling  me  that  it  was  very  evident  that  I 
should  never  assimilate  myself  to  the  spirit  of  the  Visita- 
tion, to  which  all  ways  subject  to  illusion  or  deception 
were  foreign.  I  laid  this  before  my  sovereign  Lord  with 
bitter  lamentations,  saying:  'Alas!  O  my  Lord,  is  it 
possible  that  Thou  wilt  be  the  cause  of  my  being  sent 
away?'  Whereupon  He  answered  me:  'Tell  thy  Supe- 
rior that  she  need  not  be  afraid  to  receive  you,  I  will 
answer  for  you  and  be  your  surety,  if  she  considers  Me 
sufficient  security.'  On  my  repeating  this  to  my  Superior, 
she  bade  me  ask,  as  a  pledge  of  His  suretyship,  that  He 
would  make  me  of  use  to  the  Order  by  the  strict  observance 
of  all  its  rules  and  usages.  In  His  loving  kindness  He 
rephed:  'I  will  grant  that,  my  Daughter,  and  more 
besides,  for  I  will  render  thee  more  useful  than  she  has 
any  idea  of,  to  the  Order;  but  in  a  manner  which  as  yet 
I  alone  know;  and  henceforth  I  will  so  adapt  My  grace 
to  the  spirit  of  the  Order,  to  the  will  of  thy  Superior  and 
to  thy  own  frailty,  that  thou  mayst  look  with  suspicion 


ON  COMMUNITY  LIFE.  351 

on  everything  that  interferes  with  the  exact  observance 
of  the  Rule,  to  which  it  is  My  will  that  thou  shouldst  give 
the  preference  before  everything  else.' " 

What  a  grand  and  fertile  subject  of  meditation  these 
last  words  afford  to  those  who  are  consecrated  to  God; 
and  what  a  useful  lesson  for  the  instruction  and  enlighten- 
ment of  those  unstable,  immortified  souls,  lovers  of  eccen- 
tricity, who  seem  to  have  no  other  incentive  to  action, 
no  other  rule  of  life  than  the  whims  of  their  undisciplined 
nature,  the  dreams  of  imagination  or  the  impulsive  zeal 
of  an  indiscreet  devotion! 


CHAPTER  II. 

ON  THE   BLESSINGS   OF  COMMUNITY  LIFE. 

The  four  chief  blessings  attached  to  Community  life 
are:  Peace  of  mind,  union  of  hearts,  the  edification  of 
the  Brethren,  and  the  prosperity  of  the  Order.  Let 
us  briefly  explain  what  is  meant  by  these. 

1.  Peace  of  mind.  Conmiunity  life  is  the  source  of 
great  interior  peace  for  the  Religious  who  faithfully  fulfils 
its  obligations,  and  this  is  why: 

St.  Augustine,  in  his  commentary  on  these  words  of  the 
84th  Psalm:  "Justice  and  peace  have  kissed,"  has  this 
pleasing  remark:  ''Justice  and  peace  are  two  friends; 
they  embrace  one  another,  they  exchange  the  kiss  of  mutual 
fond  affection;  wherefore  if  you  do  not  love  justice,  the 
friend  of  peace,  peace  will  not  love  you  and  will  not  come 
and  abide  with  you."  Now  the  justice  of  which  he  speaks 
is,  according  to  the  opinion  of  commentators,  all  the 
virtues  as  a  whole. 

Community  life  if  rightly  understood  and  carried  into 
practice  is  really  an  aggregate  of  all  the  virtues ;  it  affords 
occasion  for  the  practice  of  humility,  self-denial,  obedience, 
charity,  modesty,  patience,  devotion.  What  more  do 
we  want?  Therefore  in  it  we  possess  peace;  peace  will 
form  a  firm  friendship  with  us,  seeing  that,  thanks  to  the 
common  life,  she  will  find  in  us  her  faultless  friend,  justice, 
in  whom  all  the  gifts  of  God  are  united. 

St.  Bona  venture  thus  beautifully  expresses  this:  "Let 

352 


ON  THE  BLESSINGS  OF  COMMUNITY  LIFE.    353 

those  who  profess  the  religious  life  enter  heartily  into  the 
common  life,  regarding  it  as  most  holy,  one  may  almost 
say  angelic.  Let  them  give  themselves  to  it  devoutly  and 
fervently,  and  never  depart  from  all  that  is  in  the  common 
rule,  unless  under  stress  of  necessity,  whether  it  be  reciting 
the  Divine  Office,  or  matters  concerning  the  food  provided 
for  the  Community,  in  anything  whatsoever,  in  short. 
God  bestows  so  special  a  benediction  on  all  that  is  done 
in  common,  that  what  is  good  becomes  better,  and  what 
is  defective  is  mercifully  pardoned.  The  Lord  dwells  in 
the  monastery  where  the  Religious  are  united  among  them- 
selves, and  there  He  rests  where  peace  reigns." 

Yes,  the  God  of  all  peace  is  mth  the  Religious  who  per- 
severes in  the  punctual  observance  of  the  rules  of  common 
life;  and  the  peace  he  enjoys  surpasses,  as  St.  Paul  says, 
all  understanding,  whereas,  as  the  author  of  the  Imitation 
tells  us,  ^'  he  that  is  seeking  to  become  free  and  unrestrained 
will  always  be  in  trouble,  for  one  thing  or  other  will  ever 
displease  him''   (B.  i.  Ch.  25.). 

We  appeal  to  the  experience  both  of  fervent  and  luke- 
warm Religious  in  confirmation  of  what  has  been  said 
on  this  point. 

2.  The  second  blessing  attaching  to  Community  life 
is  union  of  hearts. 

If,  in  virtue  of  the  common  life  when  faithfully  followed, 
the  peace  of  the  Holy  Spirit  pervades  the  hearts  of  all  the 
brethren,  they  can  not  fail  to  be  otherwise  than  united 
amongst  themselves  in  a  close  and  intimate  union.  For 
the  Holy  Spirit  is  the  true,  the  indissoluble  bond  of  souls, 
and  the  interior  peace  of  which  He  is  the  source,  influences 
the  mutual  relations  of  the  members  of  the  Community, 
uniting  them  one  with  another  in  a  natural  and  pleasant 
manner. 

Moreover  when  discipline  is  maintained  in  a  monastery, 
and  the  Rule  with  all  its  observances  is  strictly  kept,  a 


354     ON  THE  BLESSINGS  OF  COMMUNITY  LIFE. 

mutual  esteem  prevails  among  the  members  of  the  Com- 
munity. Each  one  feels  this  esteem  for  his  brethren; 
sometimes  this  feeling  amounts  to  a  kind  of  veneration. 
In  fact,  the  Religious  who  is  always  faithful,  always  exact, 
unfailing  in  his  regularity,  is  worthy  of  no  slight  reverence. 

Now  this  mutual  esteem,  this  simple,  heartfelt  reverence, 
is  plainly  productive  of  close  union,  and  this  charitable, 
friendly  frame  of  mind  existing  in  a  Community  may  well 
be  compared  to  the  precious  ointment  spoken  of  in  the 
132d  Psalm,  on  Aaron's  head,  which  ran  down  upon  his 
beard,  and  even  to  the  skirts  of  his  garments. 

3.  The  third  benediction  of  Community  life  is  the 
edification  of  the  brethren. 

It  is  undeniable  that  every  Religious  is  bound  to  edify 
his  brethren,  and  this  obligation  is  a  most  important  one. 
If,  unhappily,  it  were  to  be  neglected  in  a  monastery,  the 
ruin  of  that  House  would  not  be  far  off.  Now  a  Religious 
can  give  no  greater  edification  to  his  brethren  than  that 
which  is  given  by  fidelity  to  the  common  rule.  In  this 
respect  he  may  exercise  a  powerful  influence  for  good. 
Who  knows  not  how  strong  an  impression  is  made  on  us 
by  one  whose  life  is  always  regular,  always  faithful  to 
duty  and  to  the  obligations  he  has  taken  on  himself!  It 
is  said  that  words  have  an  effect,  but  example  is  irresistible. 
Now  nowhere  is  the  truth  of  this  saying  more  evident  than 
in  the  cloister.  The  different  members  of  a  Community 
know  that  they  all  have  the  same  duties,  the  same  obhga- 
tions;  but  aU  have  not  the  same  courage,  the  same  gener- 
osity, the  same  constancy  in  fulfilling  those  duties.  Some 
are  phlegmatic,  negligent,  lukewarm.  But  if  one  of  the 
Rehgious,  or  several  of  them,  are  seen  to  be  always  exact, 
always  punctual,  always  attentive  and  assiduous  in  all 
that  the  Rule  prescribes,  whether  in  respect  to  vows  or 
observances,  who  can  resist  the  force  of  example?  who 
can  continue  any  longer  lax  and  neghgent?    On  the  one 


ON  THE  BLESSINGS  OF  COMMUNITY  LIFE.    355 

hand,  the  careless  would  feel  the  stings  of  conscience ; 
on  the  other,  the  example  of  their  more  zealous  brethren 
would  incite  and  encourage  them  to  do  better;  they  have 
but  to  apply  themselves  to  the  common  life. 

Let  every  Religious  tell  himself  that  he  is  bound  thus 
to  contribute  in  promoting  the  perfection  of  all,  not  by 
any  extraordinary  practices,  nor,  in  most  cases,  by  admo- 
nition and  exhortation,  but  by  a  fervent  and  unflagging 
adherence  to  the  regulations  of  Community  life. 

4.  The  fourth  blessing  attached  to  Community  life  is 
the  prosperity  of  the  Order. 

Another  obligation  binding  on  the  Religious  consists 
in  promoting  the  real  well-being  of  his  Order.  This  obli- 
gation is  grounded  on  gratitude,  charity,  and  justice; 
what  reason  he  has  to  be  grateful  to  his  Order,  how  much 
it  has  done  for  him !  How  valuable  are  the  benefits  which 
he  derived  from  the  religious  training  of  the  novitiate,  and 
which  he  will  receive  from  the  Order  during  the  remain- 
der of  his  life!  Charity  also  enjoins  this  duty,  because 
the  prosperity  of  the  Order  depends  on  the  sanctity  of  its 
members,  and  the  Religious  is  undoubtedly  bound  to 
exert  himself  to  the  utmost  for  the  sanctification  of  his 
brethren.  Finally  justice  requires  him  to  contribute  to 
the  welfare  of  the  Order,  because  it  is  only  just  that  it 
should  attain  its  end,  accomplish  the  work  which  was 
the  object  of  its  foundation,  and  shed  abroad  in  the  Church 
of  God  the  good  odor  of  Christ,  which  is  the  end  for  which 
all  the  Orders  are  instituted.  Now  the  members  of  any 
religious  Institute  wrong  that  Institute  if  they  do  not 
labor  efficaciously  to  further  its  prosperity. 

No  doubt  therefore  is  possible  on  this  point;  every 
Religious  is  bound  to  contribute  to  the  welfare;  the  true 
prosperity  of  his  Order. 

But  in  what  does  this  welfare,  this  prosperity  consist? 
Primarily  and  essentially  in  the  exact,  willing,  unremitting 


356    ON  THE  BLESSINGS  OF  COMMUNITY  LIFE. 

observance  of  Community  life.  This  it  is  that  confirms 
the  authority  of  the  Rule,  and  exhibits  it  in  all  its  dignity 
and  beauty;  this  it  is  which  exalts  the  authority  of  the 
Superiors  and  makes  it  respected;  this  it  is  which  gives 
the  weight  and  importance  they  merit  to  the  simple 
usages  which  are  traditional  in  a  monastery ;  this  it  is  which 
brings  all  wills  into  harmony,  upholds  the  weak,  increases 
the  generosity  of  the  fervent,  and  thus  maintains  an  exem- 
plary zeal  amongst  the  members  of  the  religious  family. 
Through  this  regularity  discipline  is  never  relaxed;  the 
aim  of  the  Order  is  attained  with  greater  facility,  the 
work  peculiar  to  the  Religious  is  performed  with  discre- 
tion and  prudence,  and  consequently  with  God's  bless- 
ing and  unfailing  success.  In  the  season  of  trial  all  find 
consolation  inCommimity  life;  in  the  time  of  prosperity 
it  forms  a  barrier  to  the  laxity  which  is  apt  to  creep  in. 
For  institutions  in  their  infancy  it  is  the  best  means  of 
securing  solid  progress,  vigorous  growth  and  vital  force. 
For  more  mature  Institutions  it  is  the  salt  that  preserves 
them  from  corruption,  the  vivifying  sap  which  makes 
them  evermore  bear  fresh  fruits;  finally  it  develops  in 
them  a  mysterious  force  and  energy  which  seems  to  set 
upon  them  the  stamp  of  immortality. 

May  this  never  be  forgotten  by  the  religious  Institutions 
whose  desire  it  is  to  perfume  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ 
with  the  fragrance  of  their  good  works !  The  common  life, 
a  life  entirely  conformed  to  the  primitive  rules  which  the 
Church  has  sanctioned  and  approved,  as  well  as  to  the 
time-honored  customs  which  have  been  handed  down  to 
posterity  as  a  precious  legacy  in  regard  to  the  interior 
arrangements  of  the  monastery  and  the  intercourse  to 
be  permitted  with  seculars,  etc.;  the  common  life,  I  say, 
affords  the  great  test  as  to  whether  God  has  estabUshed 
His  kingdom  in  that  House.  The  number  of  novices  can 
not  exactly  be  taken  as  a  proof  of  this  blessed  state  of 


ON  THE  BLESSINGS  OF  COMMUNITY  LIFE.    357 

things,  nor  the  rapid  spread  of  the  Order  and  the  numer- 
ous foundations  that  are  made.  No,  rapid  growth  is 
sometimes  the  forerunner  of  speedy  decay.  But  if  the 
Rule  be  always  kept,  the  regulations  of  Commimity  Ufe 
strictly  observed,  this  may  be  taken  as  a  manifest  sign 
that  divine  grace  pervades  and  sanctifies  an  Order,  render- 
ing it  a  burnt-offering  of  sweet  savor  to  the  God  of  infinite 
majesty. 


CHAPTER  III. 

•ON    COMMUNITY    LIFE    AND    THE    LIFE    OF    SACRIFICE. 

Community  life  and  the  life  of  sacrifice  are  one  and 
the  same  life.  This  we  shall  proceed  to  prove.  They  are 
identical  for  two  reasons;  of  these  the  first  is  based  on 
the  duties  of  the  religious  state,  and  the  second  on  the 
condition  to  which  our  fallen  nature  has  reduced  us; 
but  this  needs  no  explanation. 

The  principal  duty  which  the  religious  state  imposes 
on  one  who  embraces  it  is  to  live  everywhere  and  always 
in  a  victim's  spirit  of  self-surrender.  As  we  have  often 
repeated,  it  is  on  the  day  of  his  profession  that  the  Re- 
ligious is  laid  as  a  victim  on  the  sacrificial  altar,  and  that 
same  day  witnesses  his  definite  admission  to  the  Com- 
munity. He  will  therefore  live  the  life  of  the  Community 
in  virtue  of  his  profession  and  of  his  dedication  as  a  victim. 
Now  it  is  clear  that  from  that  time  forth  he  is  bound  to 
keep  all  the  rules  and  faithfully  observe  all  the  practices 
which  constitute  the  common  life,  in  the  spirit  of  a  victim. 
This  spirit  will  imbue  all  his  actions,  the  least  as  well  as 
the  greatest,  whether  he  obeys  the  bell  that  bids  him 
rise,  makes  his  meditation,  goes  to  the  chapel  for  Mass, 
or  attends  the  Chapter;  whether  he  keeps  the  hours  of 
silence,  is  remarkable  for  his  modesty,  his  punctuality; 
whether  he  joins  the  others  at  recreation,  or  betakes  him- 
self to  manual  labor  or  some  other  occupation;  in  his 
relations    to  the  other  members  of   the  Community,  to 

358 


COMMUNITY  LIFE  AND  LIFE  OF  SACRIFICE   359 

his  Superiors,  to  persons  living  in  the  world;  in  seasons 
of  infirmity,  of  humiliation,  of  sickness;  in  each  and  all 
of  his  actions  and  circumstances  the  Religious  remains  a 
victim,  a  victim  always  bound  on  the  altar  of  sacrifice. 
For  him  every  act  is  an  act  of  worship,  and  whatever  the 
nature  of  his  various  employments  during  the  day,  the 
one  on  which  he  is  occupied  at  the  moment  is  either  an 
ascription  of  glory  to  God,  an  act  of  atonement  offered 
to  Him,  or  an  oblation  which  He  is  entreated  to  accept. 

We  have  seen,  in  an  earlier  part  of  this  work,  that 
the  life  of  Our  Lord  upon  earth  was  one  of  continual 
sacrifice.  From  the  moment  of  His  offering  Himself  as 
a  victim  to  His  Father  at  His  Incarnation,  His  every  act 
without  exception,  both  interior  and  exterior,  was  per- 
formed by  Him  in  this  character  of  a  sacrificial  victim, 
and  each  one  of  those  acts  would  have  sufficed,  more  than 
sufficed,  for  our  Redemption.  How  admirable  is  this 
constant,  life-long  self-sacrifice,  these  unceasing  acts  of 
oblation!  The  secret  of  them  is  revealed  by  the  words 
He  uttered:  "I  seek  not  My  own  glory,  I  seek  the  glory 
of  My  Father,  for  I  do  always  the  things  that  please  Him  " 
(John  viii.  29). 

Now  in  this  respect  the  good  Religious  perfectly  re- 
sembles Jesus  Christ.  The  very  name  he  bears  signifies 
that  his  life  is  one  of  religion,  of  consecration  to  the  ser- 
vice of  God,  to  offer  Him  unceasing  praise  in  the  spirit 
of  sacrifice.  St.  Paul  said  of  the  early  Christians  that 
they  were  "a  spiritual  house,  a  holy  priesthood,  to  offer 
up  spiritual  sacrifices  acceptable  to  God  by  Jesus  Christ  '* 
(I.  Pet.  ii.  5).  But  this  is  doubly  true  of  the  Religious 
who  is  preeminently  that  holy  temple,  who  is  invested  with 
that  kingly  priesthood  which  enables  him  to  offer  imceas- 
ingly,  under  all  circumstances,  in  all  that  he  does,  spiritual 
burnt-offerings  which  God  is  pleased  to  accept  through 
Jesus  Christ. 


360  COMMUNITY  LIFE  AND  LIFE  OF  SACRIFICE. 

Thus  it  is  obvious  that  if  the  Religious  faithfully  fulfils 
the  principal  duty  of  his  state,  that  of  self-surrender, 
for  him  the  Community  life  and  the  life  of  sacrifice  are  one 
and  the  selfsame  life.  We  shall  have  occasion  to  expound 
this  essential  point  more  in  detail  as  we  proceed  to  con- 
sider the  various  observances  that  constitute  the  common 
Hfe. 

But  if  the  duty  of  his  state  is  the  first  reason  which 
renders  it  incumbent  on  the  Religious  to  make  common 
life  a  life  of  perpetual  self-sacrifice,  it  must  also  be  said, 
seeing  how  miserable  is  the  condition  to  which  our  fallen 
nature  has  brought  us,  it  is  impossible  that  this  life,  if 
rightly  carried  out,  should  not  furnish  abundant  occasion 
for  self-immolation,  self-denial,  the  complete  annihilation 
of  self. 

In  the  Imitation  we  read  this  sentence  which  at  first 
sight  strikes  us  as  somewhat  strange:  "Thou  must  learn 
to  break  thine  own  will  in  many  things,  if  thou  wilt  keep 
peace  and  concord  with  others;  it  is  no  small  matter  to 
dwell  in  monasteries  or  in  a  Congregation,  and  to  five  therein 
without  contradiction  "  (B.  i.  Ch,  17).  This  is  as  much  as 
saying  that  Community  life  is  a  life  of  self-immolation  and 
sacrifice.  St.  Bernard  is  reported  to  have  declared  Com- 
munity life  to  be  a  martyrdom.     Vita  communis  martyrium. 

St.  John  of  the  Cross  speaks  still  more  plainly:  "Imag- 
ine," he  says,  "that  your  brethren  are  so  many  sculptors, 
hammer  and  chisel  in  hand,  and  that  you  are  placed  before 
them  like  a  block  of  stone,  intended  in  the  designs  of  God 
to  be  fashioned  into  a  statue  representing  the  Man  of 
sorrows,  reproducing  in  every  feature  Christ  crucified." 
These  are  forcible  words.  What  conditions  they  propose 
to  us:  present  pain  and  future  glory!  Thus  all  our 
brethren  contribute,  one  in  one  manner,  one  in  another, 
but  all  by  painful  means,  to  make  of  us  a  victim  without 
a  vestige  of  will,  without  a  remnant  of  self. 


COMMUNITY  LIFE  AND  LIFE  OF  SACRIFICE.  361 

Let  us  not  deceive  ourselves,  for  in  fact  differences  of 
temperament,  of  character,  of  early  training,  of  nationality, 
of  age,  and  who  knows  what  else  besides,  all  concur  to 
create  a  strange  and  unfortunate  hostility,  covert  if  not 
open,  amongst  those  who  live  in  Community.  We  say 
covei^t  if  not  open,  but  now  and  again  that  antagonism 
must  show  itself  in  words,  demeanor,  in  a  thousand  trifles 
which,  slight  as  they  may  appear,  are  yet  not  without 
meaning;  and  a  feeling  of  opposition  rises  up  within  us, 
which  sometimes  is  but  a  thorn-prick,  at  others  a  deep 
thrust  from  a  sharp  sword.  There  are  some  sensitive, 
excessively  impressionable  natures  to  whom  nothing  is  a 
mere  prick,  but  everything  seems  a  cruel  and  painful 
wound.  Generally  this  depends  on  the  natural  disposition; 
sometimes,  however,  it  is  the  result  of  a  divine  and  special 
dispensation.  Our  Lord  once  said  to  B.  Margaret  Mary: 
"For  the  purpose  of  perfecting  thee  in  patience,  I  shall 
augment  thy  sensitiveness  and  thy  aversions,  so  as  to 
cause  thee  to  find  occasions  of  humiliation  and  suffering 
even  in  the  most  trivial  and  indifferent  matters." 

However  this  may  be,  in  either  case  the  immolation  is 
always  agonizing,  the  crucifixion  always  cruel. 

And,  strange  to  say,  one  might  really  think  this  sensi- 
tiveness had  somehow  been  developed  since  our  entrance 
into  religion.  Were  there  no  contradictions  to  be  en- 
countered, no  clashing  of  interests  in  our  family  circle, 
in  society  at  large?  Or  can  it  be  that  self-love,  taking 
advantage  of  the  external  propriety  which  the  name,  the 
habit,  the  life  of  a  Religious  confers,  makes  us  more  touchy 
on  the  point  of  honor?  Or  again — and  we  will  hope  that 
this  is  the  most  probable  supposition — have  the  words  of 
Holy  Scripture  been  verified  in  our  case,  and  "because 
we  are  acceptable  to  God,  we  are  tried  in  the  furnace  of 
temptation ' '  ?  At  any  rate,  our  susceptibility,  often  foolish, 
is  a  source  of  suffering.     Some  trivial  word  will  offend  us 


362  COMMUNITY  LIFE  AND  LIFE  OF  SACRIFICE, 

as  much  as  if  it  were  a  gross  insult,  and  a  want  of  con- 
sideration will  appear  in  our  eyes  as  an  intentional  display 
of  spite  and  aversion.  Patience!  it  is  the  sacrificial  blade 
that  strikes  us  under  one  form  or  another.  Let  us  sub- 
mit to  it  with  calm,  humble  resignation;  is  it  not  right 
that  the  victim  should  be  slain? 

The  Rule  itself  with  the  imiformity  and  punctuality  it 
demands  is  in  itself  another  means  of  sacrifice.  Always 
the  same  exercises  at  the  same  time,  the  same  food,  the 
same  surroundings.  Some  find  this  uniformity  enjoyable, 
but  many  find  it  wearisome.  If  we  are  amongst  the  latter, 
we  must  arm  ourselves  with  courage  and  constancy  and 
not  be  disheartened  if  we  can  not  habituate  ourselves  to 
this  or  that  work  or  custom;  rather  let  us  be  vigilant 
and  zealous,  and,  as  the  author  of  the  Imitation  bids  us, 
live  more  devoutly  and  keep  our  Rule  more  strictly,  as 
shortly  about  to  receive  the  reward  of  our  labors  from 
God  (B.  i.  Ch.  19). 

Not  only  the  uniformity  required  of  us,  but  the  punc- 
tuality, is  a  source  of  trial.  Always  to  rise  at  the  first 
sound  of  the  bell,  to  break  off  abruptly  what  one  is  doing 
when  we  are  summoned  elsewhere,  without  stopping  to 
finish  a  word  if  we  are  writing;  instantly  to  leave  some 
pleasant  employment  to  say  the  office  or  do  something 
irksome;  to  join  the  others  at  recreation  when  we  would 
fain  remain  alone  in  our  cell;  to  engage  in  some  toilsome 
work  when  we  think  we  need  relaxation;  all  this  and 
more  besides  crucifies  nature  relentlessly.  Let  us  console 
ourselves  with  the  recollection  that  obedience  is  the 
perfection  of  sacrifice,  and  that  by  unremitting  and  exact 
faithfulness  in  the  least  things  appertaining  to  the  Rule, 
we  shall  deserve  at  a  later  period  to  enter  into  the  joy  of 
Qur  Lord  and  Master  Jesus  Christ. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

ON  THE  HOLY  RULES  AND  THE  OBLIGATIONS  THEY  IMPOSE 
ON  THE   RELIGIOUS. 

Every  Religious  knows  in  what  the  Rules  of  his  Order 
consist;  that  is  to  say,  what  are  the  laws  which  regulate  his 
conduct  in  Community  life,  whether  it  be  the  Rule  prop- 
erly so  called,  the  Constitutions,  the  book  of  statutes,  or 
the  local  customs.  He  is  made  acquainted  with  these  in 
the  novitiate.  Consequently,  it  is  unnecessary  for  us  to 
enter  into  details  as  to  the  exact  meaning  of  these  terms; 
the  more  so  as  they  are  understood  in  a  different  sense  in 
different  Orders. 

The  important  matter  is  to  establish  the  authority  of 
the  holy  Rules,  and  to  know  in  what  way  we  are  to  observe 
them. 

The  authority  of  the  Rule  is  derived  from  the  appro- 
bation of  the  Holy  See,  or  of  the  bishop  of  the  diocese; 
of  the  Holy  See,  when,  after  trial  has  been  made  of  the  Rule, 
the  Vicar  of  Jesus  Christ  upon  earth  has  vouchsafed  to 
signify  his  approval  of  it  formally;  of  the  bishop  of  the 
diocese,  when,  during  the  infancy  df  a  new  Congregation, 
he  is  pleased  to  give  to  h  his  sanction  and  approbation. 

The  Rules  approved  by  the  Holy  See  are  indisputably 
of  greater  authority  than  those  which  have  only  received 
episcopal  approbation,  although  these  have  great  weight 
and  can  claim  to  be  regarded  with  much  respect  by  the 
Religious. 

The  authority  of  the  Rule  is  so  real  and  incontestable 

363 


364     ON  THE  HOLY  RULES  AND  OBLIGATIONS 

that  the  obligation  of  keeping  it  follows  as  a  necessary 
consequence.  This  obligation  does  not  therefore,  as  will 
be  seen,  rest  on  the  vow  of  obedience,  but  on  the  sanction 
given  by  lawful  authority  to  the  code  of  laws  which  govern 
the  Congregation.  In  fact  the  vow  that  the  Religious  takes 
is  not  to  keep  the  Rule,  but  to  obey  as  the  Rule  ordains. 

Every  Community  is  a  society.  Every  society  has  need 
of  legislation  to  ensure  order  and  maintain  harmony  and 
concord  amongst  the  members.  When  once  the  Rules  have 
been  officially  approved,  they  become  binding.  In  this 
way  every  Religious  is  bound  to  keep  the  Rule;  and  the 
novices  also,  who  as  yet  have  taken  no  vow,  are  bound 
to  conform  to  the  laws  of  the  Order  of  which  they  aspire 
to  become  members. 

But  to  what  extent  are  the  Rules  obligatory?  Are  they 
binding  under  pain  of  mortal  sin,  or  only  of  venial  sin 
or  is  it  merely  required  to  perform  some  penance  imposed 
as  the  penalty  of  transgressing  them? 

Here  is  the  answer  to  these  queries: 

The  injunctions  contained  in  the  Rule  may  be  divided 
into  three  distinct  classes:  1.  Those  that  are  already 
enjoined  by  the  law  of  God,  such  as  commands  relating 
to  divine  worship,  charity,  etc.  2.  Those  that  have  refer- 
ence to  the  laws  of  the  Church,  to  the  religious  vows,  and 
to  the  enclosure  (if  the  Religious  are  cloistered).  3.  Those 
which,  to  borrow  St.  Francis  of  Sales*  words,  are  only 
given  for  the  direction  and  guidance  of  the  members  of  the 
Congregation,  such  as  to  observe  the  hours  of  silence  or 
not  to  eat  between  meals. 

Now  the  violation  of  the  first  class  of  injunctions, 
which  appertain  to  the  law  of  God,  is  a  mortal  or  a  venial 
sin  according  as  the  matter  is  grave  or  slight  and  the 
deed  done  with  full  knowledge  and  deliberation  or  the 
reverse. 

The  same  may  be  said  concerning  the  injunctions  which 


ON  THE  HOLY  RULES  AND  OBLIGATIONS.      365 

relate  to  the  religious  vows  and  the  enclosure.  This  sub- 
ject was  fully  treated  of  in  the  third  part  of  this  work. 

But  what  are  we  to  think  about  the  injunctions  which 
are  intended  for  the  direction  and  guidance  of  the  Religious? 
They  are  far  more  numerous,  and  may  be  said  to  be  the 
substance  of  the  religious  code  properly  so  called;  they 
are  what  is  submitted  for  approbation  first  to  the  Ordinary, 
subsequently  to  the  Holy  See. 

In  the  greater  number  of  Orders  these  injunctions  con- 
sidered only  in  themselves  are  not  binding  under  pain  of 
mortal  or  venial  sin.  We  say  in  the  greater  nuinber  of 
Orders,  because  there  are  some  whose  Rules  are  obligatory 
under  pain  of  sin,  St.  Benedict's,  for  instance.  But  unless 
this  obligation  is  expressly  stated  one  may  take  for  granted 
that  it  does  not  exist. 

We  also  said  considered  in  themselves,  for  this  reason, 
because  if  the  transgression  of  the  Rules,  or  of  one  single 
Rule,  arises  from  contempt  of  authority  or  some  other 
blameworthy  frame  of  mind,  undoubtedly  it  is  sinful.  We 
will  listen  to  what  St.  Francis  says  on  this  point,  he  who 
speaks  so  wisely  and  so  decidedly  on  such  matters.  In 
this  he  does  but  repeat  the  teaching  of  St.  Thomas. 

"The  Constitutions  in  themselves  are  not  in  any  way 
binding  under  pain  of  either  mortal  or  venial  sin;  they 
are  only  given  for  the  direction  and  guidance  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Congregation.  However,  if  any  one  of  the 
Sisters  were  to  transgress  them  wittingly  and  willingly, 
thinking  them  of  no  moment,  and  perhaps  thereby  giving 
scandal  either  to  her  fellow-Religious  or  to  strangers,  she 
would  undoubtedly  commit  a  serious  fault,  for  it  is  impos- 
sible to  exonerate  one  who  disparages  and  brings  into  con- 
tempt the  things  of  God,  who  belies  her  profession,  brings 
disorder  into  the  Congregation,  and  blights  the  fruits  of 
good  example  and  good  odor  which  she  ought  to  produce 
to  the  edification  of  her  neighbor.     Such  an  exhibition  of 


366     ON  THE  HOLY  RULES  AND  OBLIGATIONS, 

studied  contempt  for  authority  would  certainly  ere  long 
draw  down  some  severe  chastisement  from  Heaven,  and 
first  and  foremost  would  be  the  withdrawal  of  the  gifts 
and  graces  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  of  which  those  are  usually 
deprived  who  renounce  their  good  intentions  and  depart 
from  the  path  in  which  God  has  placed  them. 

"Now  contempt  for  the  Constitutions,  as  of  all  good 
works,  may  be  known  by  the  following  marks: 

"  The  Religious  renders  himself  guilty  of  it,  if  out  of 
contempt  he  transgresses  or  neglects  some  order,  not 
merely  voluntarily  but  purposely;  if  he  errs  through  in- 
advertence, forgetfulness,  or  yields  to  some  sudden  im- 
pulse, it  is  a  different  matter;  contempt  implies  a  deliberate 
intention  and  determination  to  act  in  such  a  manner. 
Hence  it  follows  that  whoever  breaks  the  Rule  or  disobeys 
through  contempt,  not  only  disobeys,  but  does  so  with 
the  full  intention  to  disobey.  For  instance,  eating  be- 
tween meal-times  is  forbidden;  the  Sister  who  allows  her- 
self to  do  so  breaks  the  Rule  and  is  guilty  of  disobedience; 
but  if  she  eats  something  nice,  from  the  wish  to  gratify 
her  palate,  she  too  disobeys,  not  for  the  sake  of  disobeying, 
but  out  of  greediness;  but  if  she  eats  something  because 
Bhe  despises  the  Rule  and  will  not  heed  it  or  submit  to  it, 
then  she  disobeys  out  of  contempt  and  for  disobedience' 
eake. 

"  Moreover,  he  who  transgresses  a  Rule  or  Constitution 
out  of  contempt,  shows  that  he  considers  it  despicable 
and  useless,  and  this  is  great  presumption  on  his  part; 
or  else  if  he  deems  it  useful  and  yet  will  not  submit  to  it 
himself,  then  he  departs  from  his  early  resolution  when 
he  entered  religion,  and  he  does  great  harm  to  his  neighbor 
on  account  of  the  scandal  he  gives  and  his  bad  example; 
he  breaks  the  promise  he  made  to  the  Order,  he  upsets  a 
devout  House ;  all  of  which  are  most  blameworthy  actions. 

''  But  in  order  to  have  some  test  whereby  to  ascertain 


ON  THE  HOLY  RULES  AND  OBLIGATIONS,      367 

whether  in  any  violation  of  the  Rules  or  act  of  disobedience 
the  offender  was  actuated  by  contempt,  let  us  observe: 

"  1.  Whether,  when  reproved,  he  takes  it  as  a  jest,  and 
shows  no  sign  of  penitence; 

''2.  Whether  he  continues  to  act  in  the  same  manner 
without  exhibiting  either  wish  or  intention  to  amend ; 

"  3.  Whether  he  contests  the  expediency  of  the  Rule  or 
command ; 

''4.  Whether  he  endeavors  to  induce  others  to  break 
the  Rule  likewise,  and  encourages  them  to  do  so  by  telling 
them  it  is  a  mere  nothing,  they  need  not  be  afraid." 

Such  is  the  opinion  of  the  holy  bishop;  and  from  what 
he  goes  on  to  say  we  see  that  he  has  no  notion  of  allowing 
Religious  to  regard  infringements  of  the  Rule  as  matters 
of  no  moment. 

"  As  for  violations  of  the  Rule  which  are  not  prompted 
by  a  spirit  of  disobedience  and  contempt  for  authority, 
if  they  arise  from  indifference,  weakness,  temptation,  or 
negligence,  they  may  be  confessed  as  venial  sins;  for 
although  they  are  not  in  any  way  sinful  in  virtue  of  the 
obhgation  imposed  by  the  Rule,  yet  they  may  be  so  because 
of  the  negUgence,  carelessness,  precipitation,  or  other  faults 
involved  in  them.  For  it  seldom  happens  that  if  we 
voluntarily  neglect  to  perform  some  good  actions  calculated 
to  advance  our  spiritual  welfare,  and  which  we  are  un- 
mistakably invited  and  called  to  perform,  we  offend  against 
God  by  so  doing;  for  this  omission  can  only  proceed  from 
carelessness,  perversity,  or  want  of  fervor;  and  if  we  shall 
have  to  render  account  for  every  idle  word,  how  much  more 
for  having  rendered  idle  and  useless  the  injunction  to  be 
faithful  in  carrying  out  the  Rule." 

It  would  be  superfluous  to  add  anything  to  this  wise 
exhortation.  We  will  proceed  to  examine  a  subject 
which  is  the  complement  of  the  one  of  which  we  have  been 
speaking,  the  spirit  of  strict  observance. 


*       CHAPTER  V. 

ON  THE   SPIRIT  OF   STRICT   OBSERVANCE. 

The  spirit  of  strict  observance  is  a  state  of  mind  which, 
grounded  on  a  high  esteem  for  the  holy  Rule,  disposes  us 
to  observe  them  as  perfectly  as  possible. 

The  Religious  who  is  animated  by  this  spirit  places  his 
Rule  above  everything,  because  to  him  it  represents  the 
will  of  God.  There  may  be  exercises  which,  in  the  ab- 
stract, are  of  a  higher  type,  and  works  more  holy  than 
those  which  his  Rule  appoints  for  him;  but  for  him,  for 
the  work  of  his  own  personal  salvation,  nothing  is  com- 
parable to  what  is  contained  in  the  holy  Rule,  what  is 
taught  and  commanded  by  it.  Hence  nothing  in  the 
regular  observances  is  little  in  his  eyes;  all  is  worthy  of 
respect,  and  in  everything  he  is  equally  attentive  and 
scrupulous.  If  some  things  are  apparently  trivial,  in 
the  light  in  which  he  regards  them  they  are  weighty  and 
honorable,  for  it  is  in  the  light  of  God's  good  pleasure 
that  he  views  them.  He  does  not  forget  that  Jesus,  our 
divine  Exemplar,  our  adorable  Victim,  willed  to  fulfil 
the  whole  law,  to  the  least  jot  and  tittle;  iota  unum  aut 
unus  apex.  He  recalls  with  loving  admiration  the  conduct 
of  our  divine  Master,  who,  after  the  miracle  of  the  multi- 
plication of  the  loaves,  for  the  instruction  of  His  apostles, 
bade  them:  ''Gather  up  the  fragments  that  remain,  lest 
they  be  lost"  (John  vi.  12). 

He  often  meditates  upon  this  admonition  of  Holy  Scrip- 
ture:   ''Let  not  the  part  of  a  good  gift  overpass  thee" 

368 


ON  THE  SPIRIT  OF  STRICT  OBSERVANCE.      369 

(Ecclus.  xiv.  14).  Now  this  good  gift  is  his  vocation, 
the  signal  grace  of  the  religious  life'. 

Who  can  call  anything  little,  when  the  Rule  is  in  ques- 
tion? He  who  despises  them  will  speedily  learn  the  truth 
of  the  words  of  the  Wise  Man:  ^'He  that  contemneth 
small  things,  shall  fall  by  little  and  little"  (lb.  xix.  1),  Be- 
fore long  he  will  contemn  great  things  as  well,  and  he  will 
fall  away  deplorably  from  his  early  fervor.  Our  Lord 
Himself  says:  '*  He  that  is  unjust  in  that  which  is  little,  is 
unjust  also  in  that  which  is  greater"  (Luke  xvi.  10).  ''A 
small  thing,"  says  St.  Augustine,  ^'  is  but  a  small  thing, 
yet  it  is  a  great  thing  to  be  faithful  in  what  are  small 
things."  This  sentence  ought  to  be  inscribed  on  the  walls 
in  every  religious  House. 

Thus  the  Religious  ought  to  give  the  preference  to  the 
most  minute  regulations  of  the  Rule  over  and  above 
every  kind  of  good  work,  however  excellent,  which  is  not 
prescribed  by  the  Rule.  If  indeed  his  attraction  to  other 
extraordinary  works  is  inspired  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
permission  is  given  him  to  obey  that  attraction,  then 
let  him  leave  his  Community  and  lead  a  hermit's  life; 
but  so  long  as  the  impulse  has  not  been  pronounced  true 
and  unmistakably  divine,  let  him  know  that  the  only  safe 
course  for  him  is  in  conforming  to  the  injunctions  con- 
tained in  the  Constitutions  and  the  book  of  Customs; 
and  that,  as  a  former  Bishop  of  Lyons  says:  ''The  monk 
ought  only  to  reckon  himself  to  have  lived  on  those  days 
which  he  has  spent  without  breaking  a  single  one  of  his 
Rules." 

Not  only  does  he  reverence  the  least  injunctions  of  the 
Rule,  but  he  loves  the  very  text  itself,  couched  as  it  is  in 
the  language  of  bygone  times,  old-fashioned  and  quaint 
in  style.  Not  for  any  consideration  would  he  have  it 
changed.  The  ancient,  not  to  say  antiquated,  wording 
to  him  by  its  simplicity  better  fitted  to  render  the 


370      ON  THE  SPIRIT  OF  STRICT  OBSERVANCE. 

ideas,  the  spirit  of  the  early  founders.  To  modernize  it 
would  appear  a  profanation  to  him.  This  may  sound 
exaggerated,  but  we  know  that  many  Religious  feel 
in  this  way.  The  book  of  Constitutions  is  their  most 
precious  treasure.  It  is  said  that  after  Holy  Scripture, 
no  book  ever  written  equals  the  '^  Imitation  of  Christ.'' 
Not  for  the  Religious ;  for  him  the  Constitutions,  the  Direc- 
tory, come  next  to  the  Bible. 

Let  us  then  cherish  a  deep  love  and  veneration  for  the 
Rule.  It  ought  to  be  read  on  one's  knees,  committed  to 
memory  if  possible,  and  its  contents  should  frequently  be 
taken  as  the  subject  of  meditation. 

The  spirit  of  strict  observance  also  makes  the  Religious 
love  the  holy  Rules  and  regulations  at  all  times. 

When  traveling,  he  keeps  as  closely  as  he  can  to  what 
is  done  in  the  Community,  both  as  to  the  time  of  the 
exercises  and  the  manner  of  performing  them.  Journeys 
are  always  somewhat  beset  with  danger  for  those  who  are 
consecrated  to  God,  although  undertaken  in  obedience; 
the  spirit  of  regularity  is  their  chief  safeguard. 

If  sickness  obhges  the  Religious  to  remain  in  his  cell  or 
in  the  infirmary,  he  does  his  utmost  to  follow  the  com- 
mon life  and  to  be  present  in  spirit  amongst  his  brethren. 

If  he  fills  some  post,  and  the  occupations  of  his  office 
compel  him  sometimes  to  absent  himself  from  the  regular 
exercises,  this  is  a  grief  to  him,  and  his  great  object  is  to 
get  done  in  order  to  join  the  Community.  He  knows  that 
Holy  Scripture  says:  ''Woe  to  him  that  is  alone,"  and 
that  Our  Lord  promises  that  where  two  or  three  are 
gathered  together  in  His  name.  He  will  be  in  the  midst 
of  them. 

Finally,  if  he  is  advanced  in  age,  let  him  beware  of 
indulging  the  too  common  delusion  that  old  age  entitles 
one  to  ask  for,  or  even  to  take  one's  self,  dispenses  that  are 
not  really  necessary ;  on  the  contrary  he  ought  to  consider 


ON  THE  SPIRIT  OF  STRICT  OBSERVANCE-      371 

himself  more  than  ever  bound  by  the  obligation  to  keep 
the  conmion  Rule.  It  is  not  for  those  who  are  drawing 
near  to  the  goal  to  slacken  their  pace.  It  is  not  the  time 
to  multiply  infractions  of  the  Rule  when  the  strict  Judge 
will  soon  call  on  us  to  render  an  account  of  the  promises 
we  have  made  to  Him.  Moreover,  the  younger  Religious 
fix  an  unsparing  gaze  on  the  conduct  of  their  seniors,  and 
they  often  model  their  own  actions  on  what  they  see  in  them 
rather  than  by  the  Rule  itself.  It  behooves  the  older 
members  of  the  Community  more  than  any  others  to  be 
a  living  rule,  and  when  their  last  hour  comes,  **  full  days," 
as  the  prophet  says,  *^ shall  be  found  in  them" — et  dies 
pleni  invenientur  in  eis  (Ps.  Ixxii.  10). 

It  is  by  no  means  impossible  that  the  monk  or  nun 
may  feel  an  involuntary  repugnance  for  the  one  or  other 
point  of  the  Rule.  St.  Francis  of  Sales  foresaw  this,  and 
with  his  customary  indulgent  kindness,  he  points  out  its 
remedy  and  its  reward.  Speaking  of  his  Daughters  of 
the  Visitation  he  says: 

'*If  perchance  they  may  sometimes  experience  disgust 
or  disUke  for  the  Constitutions  and  regulations  of  the  Con- 
gregation, they  must  act  as  they  would  in  the  case  of 
other  temptations,  and  correct  this  aversion  by  reason, 
and  by  a  good,  firm  resolution  of  the  higher  part  of  the 
soul,  awaiting  the  time  when  God  shall  give  them  con- 
solation on  their  way,  as  He  did  to  Jacob  on  his  journey, 
by  showing  them  that  the  rules  and  manner  of  life  which 
they  have  embraced  are  in  truth  the  ladder  whereby 
they  may,  like  the  angels,  ascend  to  God  by  charity  and 
descend  into  themselves  by  humility." 

These  last  words  remind  us  that  St.  Benedict  made 
strict  observance  the  eighth  degree  of  humility,  remind- 
ing us  that  in  this  habitual  conformity  to  the  Rule  in  all 
things  we  ought  to  be  interiorly  actuated  by  the  vivify- 
ing  motives   faith   supplies.     Strict  observance  does  not 


372      ON  THE  SPIRIT  OF  STRICT  OBSERVANCE', 

in  fact  consist  in  mere  outward  obedience  to  the  Rule ;  this 
would  be  more  befitting  the  Pharisee  than  the  Christian. 
The  Religious  who  contented  himself  with  outward  observ- 
ance might  indeed  be  irreproachable  in  man's  sight,  but 
what  would  he  be  in  God's  sight?  What  glory  would  he 
give  to  God  to  whom  all  glory  is  due?  He  is  a  victim 
before  the  divine  Majesty,  but  he  is  so  as  were  the  irra- 
tional animals  sacrificed  under  the  Old  Testament.  Does 
not  the  sacerdotal  character  which,  as  St.  Peter  teaches 
us,  we  received  in  baptism,  and  which  has  been  confirmed 
and  perfected  in  us  by  our  religious  profession,  oblige  us, 
as  the  same  Apostle  reminds  us,  to  offer  up  spiritual  sacri- 
fices to  God,  acceptable  to  Him  by  Jesus  Christ?  (I.  Pet. 
ii.  5.)  And  when  St.  Paul  exhorts  us  to  present  our 
bodies  a  sacrifice,  does  he  not  say  that  this  sacrifice  is  to  be 
a  living  sacrifice,  holy,  pleasing  unto  God,  a  reasonable 
service? 

Our  sacrifice  is  spiritual  and  our  burnt-offering  is  a 
living  one  when  both  the  one  and  the  other  are  animated 
by  the  interior  spirit  of  self-surrender.  This  same  spirit 
will  sustain  us  in  the  accomplishment  of  the  injunctions 
of  our  Rule.  We  shall  endeavor  not  to  lose  sight  of  God's 
presence  and  His  holy  will.  We  shall  think  upon  our 
sins,  which  continually  need  expiation;  on  death  and  the 
judgment  that  awaits  us.  St.  Bernard  was  fond  of  giving 
this  advice:  "In  all  your  actions  ask  yourself,  if  I  were 
going  to  die  this  day,  should  I  do  this?  and  if  so,  how 
should  I  do  it?"  The  thought  of  the  degree  of  glory 
that  the  faithful  soul  wins  by  each  of  these  observances — 
many  of  which  are  apparently  the  merest  trifles — a  degree 
of  glory  the  hope  of  which  inflamed  St.  Teresa's  zeal, 
this  thought  may  be  of  great  service  in  helping  us  to 
perform  each  action  holily. 

But  the  most  perfect  and  saintly  disposition  of  hearty 
the  epitome  of  all  the  rest,  is  union  with  Jesus  Christ  our 


ON  THE  SPIRIT  OF  STRICT  OBSERVANCE,      373 

Lord.  He  also  performed  the  greater  part  of  the  lowly, 
obscure  tasks  we  accomplish  daily,  performed  them  in 
the  spirit  of  a  victim,  at  Nazareth,  in  the  sweet  society 
of  Mary  and  Joseph.  Oh,  how  profitable  this  union  will 
prove  to  us!  We  shall  then  see  verified  in  ourselves  St. 
Bona  venture's  words:  *'The  greatest  perfection  of  the 
Religious  is  to  keep  faithfully  every  point  of  the  Rule." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

ON  silence:   the  praise  given  to  it  by  the  saints. 

MONASTIC  traditions. 

The  first  of  all  the  regular  observances  is  silence. 

We  are  now  about  to  speak  upon  a  subject  singularly  at- 
tractive in  itself,  but  which  it  is  difficult  to  treat  as  it  de- 
serves to  be  treated  —  silence,  sweet,  sublime,  profound 
silence!  The  adorable,  the  beautiful  example  of  Jesus, 
our  divine  Lord,  the  examples,  maxims,  encomiums  of  the 
saints,  all  at  once  rise  up  before  us  and  present  them- 
selves to  us  as  a  magnificent  whole,  and  we  hardly  know 
how  to  approach  so  grand  a  theme.  "Silence  is  the  source 
of  all  that  is  good,"  said  St.  Ephrem.  The  prophet  Isaias 
declares  that  the  service  of  justice  is  quietness,  and 
this,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Fathers,  signifies  that  the  per- 
fect practice  of  silence  implies,  to  a  certain  extent,  the 
perfect  practice  of  every  virtue. 

First  let  us  pay  our  homage  to  the  adorable  Victim, 
the  eternal  Word,  the  Word  of  the  Father,  who,  on  com- 
ing down  to  earth  and  offering  Himself  as  a  holocaust 
before  the  majesty  of  His  Father,  the  God  of  infinite 
sanctity  and  grandeur,  annihilated  Himself  before  Him, 
keeping  silence  before  Him,  absolute,  reverential  silence; 
the  silence  also  of  humiliation  and  abasement,  for  on 
Him,  in  His  character  of  victim,  the  sins  of  all  mankind 
are  laid.  The  Word  is  silent;  verhum  silens.  This  ex- 
plains His  solitude  in  Mary's  womb,  in  Bethlehem,  in  the 

374 


ON  SILENCE.  375 

tabernacle,  where  no  word  is  spoken  to  break  the  pro- 
found silence.  The  God  made  man  is  a  victim,  and  the 
victim  holds  His  peace  in  the  presence  of  the  infinite 
Being  whom  He  worships.  And  even  when  the  years  of 
His  childhood  are  past,  Jesus  speaks  but  little.  His  hidden 
life  is  a  life  of  silence,  and  it  is  prolonged  until  His  thirtieth 
year,  that  is  to  say,  for  by  far  the  greater  part  of  His  mortal 
life.  And  during  His  public  life  He  speaks  no  superfluous 
words.  At  the  time  of  His  Passion,  the  evangelists  record 
that  "Jesus  held  His  peace,"  and  we  know  that,  during 
the  solemn  hours  of  His  agony  upon  the  cross,  He  only 
spoke  seven  times.  Then  it  was  necessary;  He  was  bound 
to  speak  and  bequeath  to  us  His  legacy  of  love.  But  now 
the  silence  He  observes  becomes  more  profound,  more 
wondrous  than  ever.  Behold  Jesus  in  the  Blessed  Sacra- 
ment. He  is  there  to  be  our  Friend,  our  Spouse,  the  kind 
Companion  of  our  exile,  yet  not  a  single  word  ever  issues 
from  the  depths  where  He  is  concealed,  that  by  this  speech- 
lessness He  may  give  greater  glory  to  His  Father,  and  to 
us  a  more  impressive  lesson. 

Jesus  was  a  great  lover  of  silence,  and  so  were  all  His 
saints.  How  seldom  Mary  spoke!  Not  a  single  sentence 
from  Joseph's  lips  is  recorded  in  the  Gospels;  we  picture 
him  to  ourselves  as  always  recollected,  always  thoughtful. 
Can  we  imagine  the  life  at  Nazareth  to  be  otherwise  than 
one  of  silence?  Father  Surin,  S.J.,  relates  that  he  once 
met  with  a  young  man  who  appeared  to  him  to  have 
received  remarkable  lights  concerning  the  life  of  the  Holy 
Family.  He  said  that  in  the  house  of  Nazareth  St.  Joseph 
seldom  spoke,  the  Holy  Virgin  spoke  still  less,  and  Our 
Lord  least  of  all.  The  Incarnate  Word  scarcely  needed 
words;  His  looks  were  more  eloquent  than  speech,  and 
expressed  all  that  He  wished  to  make  known  to  Mary 
and  Joseph. 

The  ancient    Fathers  of  the  desert,  the  founders  of 


376  ON  SILENCE. 

Orders,  saints  and  servants  of  God  in  all  ages,  felt  the  need 
of  isolating  themselves  from  creatures  by  silence;  and 
the  better  to  ensure  this  isolation  of  soul,  and  facilitate 
converse  with  God,  they  sought,  in  as  far  as  charity  and 
duty  permitted,  to  avoid  conversation  with  men,  even  on 
harmless  subjects,  like  David,  who  said:  "I  ...  kept 
silence  even  from  good  things"  (Ps.  xxxviii.  3).  Taught 
by  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  in  the  pages  of  Holy  Scripture 
speaks  with  abhorrence  of  the  evil  wrought  by  much 
talking,  they  thought  that  the  temple  of  God  should  be 
erected  within  us  in  silence,  as  we  read  in  sacred  history 
concerning  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem  that  "when  the  house 
was  in  building  there  was  neither  hammer  nor  axe  nor  any 
tools  of  iron  heard."  So  must  the  spiritual  temple  be 
constructed  noiselessly,  and  the  soul,  not  wasting  her 
strength  in  the  outpouring  of  words,  will  be  enabled  to 
rise,  as  it  were,  to  the  summit  of  the  mystic  structure,  her 
upward  progress  being  commensurate  with  her  abstinence 
from  unnecessary  conversation. 

All  the  ancient  Fathers  speak  in  praise  of  silence.  Cas- 
siodorus,  who  for  a  long  time  held  the  highest  post  at  the 
court  of  Theodoric,  King  of  the  Goths,  but  left  all  to 
found  a  monastery  in  Calabria  and  himself  became  a 
monk,  speaks  thus  of  the  blessings  attendant  upon  holy 
silence: 

"  Silence  preserves  us  from  many  errors  and  sins  into 
which  talking  is  apt  to  lead  us;  it  prevents  or  puts  a 
speedy  end  to  altercations  and  disputes.  It  is  a  note  of 
uncommon  wisdom,  and  enables  us  to  speak  with  greater 
grace;  it  seasons  om*  conversation.  It  fosters  within  us 
good  thoughts,  is  a  bulwark  against  distractions  and  dissi- 
pation; it  is  an  aid  to  recollection  and  mental  progress. 
It  imparts  a  taste  for  spiritual  things,  facilitates  medita- 
tion and  prayer,  unites  the  soul  to  God  by  recollection, 
renders  her  attentive  to  the  divine  voice  that  is  heard  in 


ON  SILENCE  377 

secret,  and  wins  for  her  special  graces.  Finally,  it  produces 
interior  peace,  and  fills  the  heart  with  a  celestial  joy  of 
which  the  world  knows  nothing/' 

The  illustrious  St.  John  Chrysostom  goes  yet  further; 
in  his  eulogium  of  silence  he  almost  surpasses  himself. 
Let  us  listen  to  his  eloquent  words : 

"Keep  silence,  brethren;  regard  it  as  a  strong  wall  by 
means  of  which  you  will  be  enabled  to  conquer  tempta- 
tions; you  will  have  the  advantage  of  them,  for  you  will 
combat  them  from  a  superior  position  and  can  trample 
them  underfoot.  Keep  silence  in  the  fear  of  God,  and 
the  arrows  of  your  enemies  will  not  harm  you.  Silence, 
united  to  the  fear  of  God,  is  a  chariot  of  fire  which  will 
carry  you  up  to  heaven  like  the  prophet  Elias.  Silence 
is  the  perfection  sought  by  the  recluse,  the  ladder  whereby 
we  ascend  to  heaven,  the  road  which  leads  to  the  kingdom 
of  Christ;  it  is  the  parent  of  compunction,  the  mirror  of 
the  penitent.  Silence  causes  our  tears  to  flow,  it  engen- 
ders sweet  consolation,  it  is  the  companion  of  humility, 
enlightening  the  mind  and  imparting  spiritual  discern- 
ment. It  is  the  source  of  all  good;  by  it  we  learn  the 
science  of  the  saints,  we  learn  how  to  pray  aright;  it 
soothes  the  troubled  mind  and  is  a  tranquil  haven  when 
tempests  rage  around.  Its  yoke  is  sweet  and  delightful; 
it  is  a  rest  to  the  weary,  a  consolation  to  the  afflicted. 
Silence  checks  the  wandering  eye  and  controls  the  unruly 
tongue,  it  restrains  the  voice  of  calumny,  quells  the  pas- 
sions, and  awakens  the  love  of  virtue.  United  to  the 
fear  of  God,  it  is  the  firm  rampart  of  the  warrior  who 
fights  to  win  heaven.  Seek  therefore  to  acquire  the 
better  part  that  Mary  chose;  she  is  the  model  of  silence, 
she  sat  at  the  Saviour's  feet  and  cleaved  to  Him  alone." 

After  hearing  all  this  it  is  easy  to  understand  why  the 
founders  of  Orders,  desirous  of  obtaining  such  blessings 
for  their  Institutes,  took  care  to  establish  the  Rule  of  silence 


378  ON  SILENCE. 

amongst  their  Religious.  The  history  of  monastic  Orders 
bears  testimony  to  their  extreme  solicitude  in  this  respect. 
They  did  not  always  deem  it  necessary  to  impose  the 
safeguard  of  enclosure,  or  to  enjoin  great  austerities  on 
their  spiritual  sons  and  daughters,  but  without  a  single 
exception  they  strenuously,  not  to  say  sternly,  enjoined 
the  strict  observance  of  the  Rule  of  silence.  "This  point 
of  the  Rule,"  says  St.  Chantal,  "  has  invariably  been  much 
esteemed  and  emphatically  commended  by  founders  of 
Orders.  Well  may  they  think  highly  of  it,  for  love  of 
silence  is  the  parent  of  prayer  and  the  guardian  of  the 
heart;  and  so  beneficial  are  its  effects  that  in  order  to 
reform  a  Community  where  discipline  is  relaxed  one  needs 
but  to  enforce  the  Rule  of  silence,  while  to  withdraw  that 
obligation  would  suffice  to  bring  disorder  into  the  best- 
regulated  monastery.  Wherever  silence  is  duly  observed, 
an  atmosphere  of  great  sanctity  will  be  found  to  prevail. 
For  these  reasons  I  commend  it  to  you  with  all  my  heart." 

In  our  own  day.  Mere  Emilie,  whom  we  are  always  glad 
to  quote,  has  well  remarked:  "Of  all  the  points  of  the 
Rule  not  one  contributes  as  much  as  silence  does  to  the 
due  observance  of  the  others."  And  M.  I'Abb^  Marty, 
who  assisted  her  so  greatly  in  the  foundation  of  the  Con- 
gregation of  the  Holy  Family,  wrote  to  a  Superior  of  one 
of  the  Houses:  "Undoubtedly  silence  is  the  soul  not  only 
of  exterior  regularity  and  strict  observance,  but  of  the 
religious  life  itself.  It  is  the  road  by  which  to  attain 
the  end  of  our  vocation,  which  is  perfect  union  with  God." 

This  idea  of  perfect  union  with  God  as  the  principal 
object  of  the  rule  of  silence  reminds  one  of  what  St.  Jane 
Chantal  said  to  the  nuns  of  the  Visitation:  "My  daugh- 
ters, silence  is  not  enjoined  only  to  prevent  you  from 
speaking;  it  is  intended  as  a  means  of  tranquillizing  the 
heart  and  causing  it  to  rest  at  Our  Lord's  feet." 

Thus  there  is  a  twofold  reason  why  the  Religious  who 


ON  SILENCE.  379 

is  consecrated  to  God,  who  by  his  profession  has  sur- 
rendered himself  as  a  victim  with  Jesus  before  the  pres- 
ence of  the  divine  Majesty,  should  observe  the  rule  of 
silence.  It  is  a  necessity  for  him  and  a  duty;  it  is  a  ne- 
cessity, for.  how  could  the  privileged  soul,  the  victim  in 
God's  sight,  allow  herself  to  be  distracted  from  the  wor- 
ship of  Him  who  received  her  vows  by  useless  converse 
with  creatures?  It  is  also  a  duty,  because  that  soul  is 
bound,  in  virtue  of  her  character  and  state  of  victim,  to 
aim  constantly  at  union  with  God,  at  closer,  more  inti- 
mate intercourse  with  Him;  that  union  which,  as  we 
have  seen,  is  the  end  and  object  of  religious  silence,  and 
its  reward  when  strictly  observed.  Besides  the  apostle 
James  shows  us  in  so  many  words  how  close  a  connection 
exists  between  the  religious  life,  the  life  of  a  victim,  and 
the  observance  of  silence,  when  he  says:  ^'If  any  man 
think  himself  to  be  religious,  not  bridling  his  tongue  but 
deceiving  his  own  heart,  this  man's  religion  is  vain" 
(James  i.  26). 

St.  Jerome  declares  that  it  was  this  forcible  utterance 
from  the  lips  of  the  apostle  which  inspired  the  recluses 
of  old  and  the  founders  of  Orders  with  the  idea  of  im- 
posing the  Rule  of  silence  on  those  who  aspired  to  the  life 
of  perfection. 


CHAPTER  Vn. 

ON  REGULAR  SILENCE. 

Regular  silence,  as  its  name  indicates,  is  that  which  is 
enjoined  by  the  Rule.  Different  names  are  given  to  it. 
There  is  the  strict  or  great  silence  and  habitual  silence; 
silence  in  word  and  silence  in  movements.  In  the  same 
way  there  are  some  special  places  where,  in  their  different 
degrees,  silence  must  be  kept  more  rigorously  than  in 
others;  for  instance,  the  church,  the  choir,  the  sacristy, 
the  refectory,  etc.  We  shall  now  proceed  to  speak  of 
exterior  silence,  viewed  under  these  different  aspects. 

1.  The  great  silence.  This  is  the  silence  enjoined  on 
the  Religious  during  the  closing  hours  of  the  day,  the 
whole  of  the  night,  and  the  next  morning  until  after  the 
meditation  or  after  holy  Mass,  if  Mass  follows  imme- 
diately upon  the  meditation. 

It  is  called  the  great  silence  because  it  must  not  be 
broken  without  a  good  reason,  and  the  strict  silence  be- 
cause it  must  only  be  infringed  for  a  serious  matter.  It 
is  also  called  sacred  because  it  is  closely  allied  to  mental 
prayer.  St  Jerome  expresses  this  in  the  wording  of  his 
Rule:  "The  holy  hermits  who  dwell  in  the  desert  keep 
the  sacred  silences  (sancta  silentia)  most  scrupulously 
on  account  of  their  being  the  source  and  parent  of  holy 
contemplation." 

There  is  something  solemn  in  the  strokes  of  the  bell 
which  gives  the  signal  in  Religious  Houses  for  the  com- 


ON  REGULAR  SILENCE.  381 

mencement  of  the  great  silence.  From  the  moment  it 
is  heard  not  a  sound  breaks  the  stillness  of  the  monastery ; 
its  inmates  move  about  with  a  grave,  composed  demeanor, 
the  doors  are  opened  and  shut  carefully  and  noiselessly. 
It  is  as  if  the  spirit  of  God,  penetrating  and  taking  posses- 
sion of  the  heart  of  each  one,  verified  in  a  striking  nay, 
a  visible  manner  the  words  of  Elias  on  Mount  Carmel: 
''The  Lord  is  not  in  the  earthquake."  "The  Lord  will 
bless  His  people  with  peace"  (III.  Kings  xix.  11;  Ps.  xxviii. 
11). 

These  tranquil  evening  hours  and  still  watches  of  the 
night  are  seasons  of  special  benediction.  The  rest  which 
the  body  takes  is  emblematic  of  the  soul's  repose,  when 
she  detaches  herself  more  fully  from  created  things  and 
gives  herself  more  completely  to  God,  saying  with  the 
Psalmist:  "In  peace  in  the  selfsame  I  will  sleep,  and 
I  will  rest"  in  my  God  (Ps.  iv.  9).  The  night  prayers 
or  the  psalms  recited  in  Compline  are  specially  conducive 
to  recollection;  the  points  of  meditation  which  are  given 
to  the  Community  or  read  by  each  one  individually, 
according  to  the  custom  of  the  House,  furnish  the  soul  with 
holy  thoughts,  and  the  Religious  retires  to  rest,  his  mind 
still  dwelling  on  the  salutary  truths  he  has  just  heard. 
The  morning's  meditation  may  be  said  to  be  commenced 
overnight.  He  says  with  the  Spouse  in  the  Canticles: 
"  I  sleep  and  my  heart  watcheth."  On  awaking  in  the 
morning  his  first  thought  is  of  the  presence  of  God.  The 
silence  observed  by  the  whole  Community  acts  as  a  safe- 
guard against  temptation  to  voluntary  distractions,  and 
when  all  are  assembled  in  the  choir  for  the  first  common 
prayer  of  the  day,  one  might  imagine  that  heaven  had  come 
down  to  earth  to  offer  to  the  God  of  infinite  majesty  the 
praise  and  thanksgiving  which  are  His  due. 

Let  us  always  entertain  the  greatest  respect  for  the 
silence  which  is  truly  sacred,  the  time  for  which  is  filled 


382  ON  REGULAR  SILENCE. 

up  with  occupations  of  a  heavenly  nature.  Some  fervent 
ReUgious  have  been  known  to  perform  acts  of  heroic 
patience  to  avoid  breaking  that  silence.  Every  monastery 
records  some  instance  of  the  kind.  It  is  said  that  a  Visi- 
tation nun  who  fractured  her  arm  just  after  the  great 
silence  commenced,  preferred  to  suffer  excruciating  pain 
rather  than  call  one  of  the  Sisters  to  her  assistance.  This 
is  somewhat  overstrained;  we  must  admire  and  not  imi- 
tate, as  St.  Francis  of  Sales  would  have  said.  In  fact 
no  one  could  fail  to  admire  fortitude  and  endurance  of  so 
high  a  degree.  Nor  can  one  help  admiring  Mere  Emilie, 
who  on  hearing  one  of  her  daughters  groaning  at  night  in 
acute  pain,  went  to  her  and  sat  several  hours  beside  her, 
endeavoring  to  soothe  her  and  divert  her  from  her  suffering 
by  relating  edifying  and  interesting  anecdotes.  Toward 
a  novice  w^ho  wilfully  violated  the  Rule  Mere  Emilie  acted 
very  differently.  A  young  novice,  only  sixteen  years  old, 
forgot  herself  so  far  as  to  say  something  calculated  to 
make  the  others  laugh,  whilst  feigning  sleep.  She  was 
obliged  to  confess  her  fault  in  the  refectory.  "Sister," 
the  Mother  Superior  said  to  her,  "you  are  partly  to  be 
excused  on  account  of  your  youth  and  your  ignorance. 
Had  you  been  aware  of  what  you  were  doing,  you  would 
have  deserved  a  severe  punishment.  I  hope  this  will  be 
the  last,  as  it  is  the  first  time  so  thoughtless  an  act  occurs 
in  our  monastery.  In  reparation,  you  will  eat  your  dinner 
on  your  knees  for  a  fortnight,  and  meanwhile  pray  God 
to  give  you  a  sense  of  your  duties,  to  make  you  love  and 
respect  silence,  and  respect  your  fellow-Religious,  too." 

No  virtue  is  at  variance  with  the  others;  charity  and 
silence  can  go  hand  in  hand. 

2.  Habitual  silence.  This  consists  in  not  speaking 
without  necessity  except  at  recreation.  The  Rule  which 
enjoins  this  practice  also  indirectly  prohibits  any  noise 
calculated  to  disturb  the  quiet  of  the  monastery. 


ON  REGULAR  SILENCE  383 

If  this  silence  is  scrupulously  kept,  the  monastery  is 
like  a  holy  temple  where  the  presence  of  God  is  felt.  The 
venerable  Foundress  whose  words  and  example  we  delight  in 
quoting,  speaks  thus  of  her  first  companions  in  the  infancy 
of  her  Congregation:  "It  was  really  touching  to  see  how 
scrupulously  they  kept  the  Rule  of  silence ;  even  in  sickness 
they  avoided  breaking  it,  asking  as  far  as  possible  by  signs 
for  whatever  they  might  want.  Such  profound  stillness 
reigned  throughout  the  whole  house  that  when  M.  PAbbe 
Marty,  our  spiritual  Father,  crossed  the  threshold,  he 
stopped  short,  and  struck  with  admiration,  said  under  his 
breath:  'This  is  an  earthly  paradise!  All  lips  are  silent, 
all  eyes  cast  down/" 

There  are,  however,  circumstances  when  it  is  permissible, 
even  necessary  to  speak;  when  duty,  charity,  courtesy, 
or  some  pressing  want  obliges  us  to  break  silence. 

On  such  occasions  the  following  rules  should  be  fol- 
lowed : 

1.  Never  speak  without  permission,  if  it  is  possible  to 
ask  it. 

2.  If  we  have  not  time,  or  are  otherwise  unable  to  go 
and  ask  for  this  permission,  let  us  not  take  it  for  granted 
without  good  and  solid  reasons. 

3.  Let  us  do  our  utmost  to  postpone  until  recreation- 
time  what  at  first  sight  seemed  necessary  to  say  at  once. 
Some  persons,  not  excepting  Religious,  are  so  unable  to 
restrain  their  tongue  that  they  mistake  for  motives  of 
necessity,  good  breeding,  or  charity  what  is  in  reahty 
want  of  mortification  and  levity. 

4.  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  Rule  of  silence  is 
no  less  obligatory  in  our  intercourse  with  our  Superior 
than  with  the  other  members  of  the  Community;  that  is 
to  say  in  either  case  one  must  have  a  proper  reason  for 
breaking  the  silence. 

5.  When  such  a  reason  exists,  let  us  be  brief.     More 


384  ON  REGULAR  SILENCE. 

urbanity  of  manner  and  fewer  words  would  be  a  double 
advantage;  charity  and  silence  would  both  gain  thereby. 
Garrulity  impoverishes  the  soul.  If  we  knew  how  per- 
nicious this  is,  we  should  try  to  be  laconic  in  our  speech 
and  only  say  what  was  necessary. 

6.  Not  only  let  us  be  sparing  in  words,  but  speak  in  a 
low  tone.  If  it  is  true  that  a  hallowed  silence  ought  to 
prevail  in  the  monastery,  the  habit  some  people  have  of 
raising  their  voice  seems  almost  a  desecration  of  the  religious 
tranquillity  which  is  so  pleasing  to  God. 

7.  In  any  case  let  us  be  very  careful  not  to  cause  disedi- 
fication  to  any  one.  St.  Paul  says:  "All  things  are  lawful 
to  me,  but  all  things  are  not  expedient;  aU  things  are 
lawful  for  me,  but  all  things  do  not  edify"  (I.  Cor.  vi.  12; 
X.  23). 

8.  We  are  sometimes  advised  to  make  use  of  signs 
instead  of  words  if  a  sign  will  answer  our  purpose.  This 
advice  is  good,  as  it  often  serves  to  prevent  an  infraction 
of  the  Rule.  At  La  Trappe,  as  is  well  known,  the  monks 
employ  no  other  method  of  communication.  But  it  is 
obvious  that  the  sign  must  express  our  meaning  if  it  is  to 
be  of  any  use.  Here  we  shall  do  well  to  recall  St.  Chantal's 
wise  remark:  "Never  make  use  of  signs  to  the  Sisters  in 
the  time  of  silence  which  are  not  intelligible.  It  is  much 
better  to  say  a  few  words,  if  necessity  requires  it,  than  to 
make  a  number  of  signs  which  fail  to  convey  your  mean- 
ing and  perhaps  only  confuse  the  Sisters  and  cause  them 
great  distractions." 

Such  are  the  rules  which  it  will  be  found  useful  to  follow 
for  the  perfect  observance  of  exterior  silence.  But  besides 
the  silence  in  word,  there  is  the  silence  in  our  movements. 
The  rules  that  provide  for  this  are  the  same  as  the  rules 
of  religious  modesty;  yet  we  think  it  wise  to  remind  the 
reader  of  them,  lest  anything  essential  to  the  practice 
of  regular  silence  should  be  omitted. 


ON  REGULAR  SILENCE.  385 

1.  In  your  general  deportment  avoid  a  hurried  manner 
which  may  have  a  disturbing  effect  on  those  around  you. 
I  will  give  a  few  details  on  this  point  which  those  who 
are  really  in  earnest  will  not  consider  too  minute.  There 
is  a  way  of  walking,  a  way  even  of  using  one's  handker- 
chief which  does  not  correspond  with  the  tranquillity  of  the 
monastery.  There  are  certain  expressions  of  the  counte- 
nance and  restless  movements  of  the  body  which  are  any- 
thing but  signs  of  recollection  of  heart,  and  are  a  fertile 
source  of  distractions  to  those  who  witness  them.  Can 
you  imagine  Our  Lord  or  His  blessed  Mother  behaving 
thus? 

2.  Open  and  shut  doors  and  windows  with  simple, 
calm,  attentive  care  to  avoid  making  a  noise.  Do  not 
push  or  pull  tables  and  chairs,  or  any  piece  of  furniture  you 
want  to  move,  but  lift  them,  or  get  somebody  to  help  you 
place  them  elsewhere.  By  this  holy  poverty  will  be  the 
gainer  as  well  as  silence. 

3.  If  the  doctor,  a  man  of  business,  or  workmen  have 
to  be  admitted  into  the  house,  you  will  find  there  is  a 
simple,  unaffected  way  of  behaving,  decorous  and  cour- 
teous withal,  which,  without  actually  asking  them  to  be 
quiet,  will  make  outsiders  feel  that  they  must  be  careful 
not  to  disturb  the  tranquillity  of  the  monastery  more 
than  need  be. 

How  greatly  it  is  to  be  desired  that  every  Religious 
should  be  imbued  with  profound  respect  for  the  silence  of 
the  Rule! 

Silence  ought  to  be  more  strictly  observed  in  some  places 
than  in  others:  the  church,  the  chapter-room,  the  dormi- 
tory, the  refectory,  etc.  We  will  say  a  few  words  on  this 
point. 

1.  The  church,  the  choir,  and,  in  a  lesser  degree,  the 
sacristy.  Is  it  necessary  to  explain  why  silence  is  to  be 
specially  kept  in  those  places?    Certainly  not.    Cassian 


386  ON  REGULAR  SILENCE, 

praises  the  monks  of  Egypt  for  their  strict  observance  of  this 
rule;  for  all  this  innumerous  assembly  of  men,  he  says,  one 
would  think  there  was  but  one  present,  the  one  who, 
standing  in  the  middle  of  the  choir,  sings  the  psalm. 
No  one  coughs,  no  one  heaves  a  sigh;  and  a  severe  punish- 
ment is  inflicted  on  any  one  who  breaks  the  silence. 

2.  The  dormitory.  We  have  already  said  enough  on  the 
reason  why  silence  is  enjoined  in  the  dormitory,  when 
speaking  of  the  great  or  strict  silence. 

3.  The  chapter-room.  This  has  always  been  held  in 
respect  by  religious  communities,  for  it  is  there  that  they 
receive  counsels,  encouragements,  salutary  reproofs  which 
keep  them  up  to  the  standard  of  their  vocation;  there 
by  self-accusation  and  the  penances  given  them  they  expiate 
their  offences,  unhappily  only  too  numerous,  agahist  the 
Rule. 

4.  The  refectory.  The  refectory  of  a  religious  House 
might  almost  be  regarded  as  a  temple,  since  in  it  the 
Religious  offers  to  God  a  great  number  of  sacrifices  by 
the  mortifications  he  practises  and  the  penances,  self- 
imposed  or  otherwise,  which  it  is  customary  in  most  mon- 
asteries to  perform  there.  The  monks  of  old  were  strict 
observers  of  silence  in  the  refectory.  An  ancient  writer 
thus  describes  the  manner  in  which  the  Egyptian  coenobites 
held  their  repasts:  "The  silence  that  reigns  in  the  refec- 
tory is  so  profound  that  amongst  all  the  monks  present — 
and  they  are  a  goodly  company — not  one  is  found  who 
ventures  to  speak  a  word  to  his  neighbor,  or  indeed  to 
make  any  noise  whatsoever.  When  a  dish  is  to  be  brought 
in  or  removed,  the  monk  who  presides  at  the  table  inti- 
mates this  by  a  gentle  rap;  his  voice  is  rarely  heard." 
The  Rule  of  silence  at  table  is  respected  in  all  fervent 
communities,  unless  it  is  set  aside  for  an  adequate  reason 
or  by  some  provision  of  the  Rule  itself. 

The  manuals  of   direction  usually   enjoin  the  careful 


ON  REGULAR  SILENCE.  387 

observance  of  silence  in  the  corridors  and  on  the  stairs, 
for  the  sake  of  the  general  edification. 

Finally,  in  regard  to  keeping  silence  in  the  infirmary 
we  will  quote  the  following  wise  remarks  which  breathe 
the  spirit  of  faith:  "Permission  to  go  to  the  infirmary 
must  be  asked  for  the  sake  of  visiting  the  sick  out  of 
kindness,  and  saying  a  few  words  to  them  about  holy  things. 
The  infirmary  is  in  a  certain  sense  sacred;  Our  Lord  often 
hallows  it  by  His  presence.  It  might  justly  be  called  the 
antechamber  of  heaven,  for  so  many  of  our  Sisters  have 
departed  thence  to  enter  upon  eternity;  thence  they 
have  winged  their  flight,  as  we  confidently  hope,  to  the 
realms  of  everlasting  bliss.  Could  we  allow  idle  or  frivolous 
conversation  in  such  a  place?  No,  let  all  we  say  in  the 
infirmary  be  on  some  pious  theme.  Unless  we  are  on  our 
guard,  it  may  easily  become  a  snare  to  us,  the  source  of 
irregularity  and  sins  of  the  tongue.  Alas!  we  all  know 
what  St.  James  says:  'If  any  man  offend  not  in  word,  the 
same  is  a  perfect  man/"     (ch.  iii.  2). 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

ON    MANUAL    LABOR.      THE    EXAMPLES    OF    OUR    LORD    AND 

OF  THE  SAINTS. 

St.  Bernard,  who  is  so  great  an  authority  in  all  matters 
concerning  the  religious  life,  says  most  beautifully :  Labor, 
seclusion,  voluntary  poverty,  these  are  the  monk's  titles  of 
honor,  the  patent  of  nobility  in  the  monastic  state.  Labor, 
latebrce,  voluntaria  paupertas:  hcec  sunt  monachorum 
insignia,  hcec  solent  vitam  nobilitare  monasticam.  He 
mentions  labor  first  for  the  purpose  perhaps  of  teaching  us 
that  it  ought  never  to  be  an  impediment  to  recollection 
of  heart  and  exterior  silence,  nor  to  the  strict  observance 
of  holy  poverty,  as  is  sometimes  unhappily  the  case  if, 
the  work  being  done  without  the  spirit  of  religion  and  with 
a  certain  greed  of  gain,  the  monastery  ends  by  becoming 
wealthy.  Or  perhaps  the  saint  gives  the  foremost  place 
to  labor,  because  solitude  and  voluntary  poverty  are  only 
counsels,  whereas  the  necessity  for  work  rests  on  a  com- 
mandment of  God,  as  is  shown  by  the  words  He  spoke  to 
Adam  our  first  father,  after  the  fall:  "With  labor  and  toil 
shalt  thou  eat  thereof  all  the  days  of  thy  lite.  In  the  sweat 
of  thy  face  thou  shalt  eat  bread  till  thou  return  to  the 
earth,  out  of  which  thou  wast  taken,  for  dust  thou  art  and 
into  dust  thou  shalt  return"  (Gen.  iii.  17,  19). 

In  designating  manual  labor  as  the  title  to  dignity  and 
nobility  in  the  religious  state,  St.  Bernard  only  embodies 
in  a  sentence  the  monastic  traditions  and,  what  is  more, 

388 


ON  MANUAL  LABOR,  389 

the  doctrine  of  the  Gospel.  It  may  prove  both  agreeable 
and  useful  to  listen  awhile  to  the  teaching  of  the  monks 
of  note  in  early  times  and,  before  all,  to  learn  from  the 
example  of  Our  Lord  and  His  apostles. 

When  we  seek  to  study  the  life  of  perfection  in  its  initial 
stage,  and  to  discover  in  what  esteem  manual  labor  was 
held  from  the  very  beginning,  the  first  Community  that 
presents  itself  to  our  view  is  the  one  which  the  Triune 
God  Himself  founded,  which  for  thirty  years  was  the 
object  of  admiration  and  adoration  to  the  angels,  and 
will  be  for  all  ages  the  type  and  pattern  of  religious  Con- 
gregations; the  one  to  which,  by  reason  of  its  dignity, 
its  exceptional  sanctity,  and  the  ineffable  charity  that 
united  the  hearts  of  its  members,  we  give  the  name  of  the 
earthly  Trinity.  Jesus,  Mary,  and  Joseph,  what  a  sacred 
community !  How  wondrous  and  heavenly  was  this  first 
monastery!  Joseph,  the  humble  Joseph,  the  just  man 
was  (if  we  may  venture  to  employ  ordinary  terms  in  speak- 
ing of  these  holy  mysteries)  Joseph  was  the  Superior. 
Mary  performed  the  household  duties,  supplying  the  needs 
of  the  Holy  Family;  while  Jesus,  the  Incarnate  Word, 
the  eternal  God  become  man  for  our  sakes,  represented 
all  those  in  a  religious  House  whose  one  duty  is  to  obey; 
for  of  Him  it  is  said:  He  was  subject  to  them. 

Now  in  this  house,  truly  the  dwelling-place  of  God,  in 
this  community  of  holy  and  sacred  persons,  the  days 
were  spent  in  prayer,  reading,  works  of  charity  and  manual 
labor.  A  considerable  part  of  their  time  was,  we  have 
every  reason  to  believe,  devoted  to  labor,  the  more  so 
as  it  did  not  hinder  mental  prayer,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
was  hallowed  and  aided  by  it.  Poverty  obliged  Joseph 
to  work;  the  Gospels  tell  us  that  he  ranked  as  an  ordinary 
artisan.  Mary  also  worked,  as  we  learn  from  tradition. 
St.  Bonaventure  applies  to  her  a  word  which  is  used  to 
denote  a  woman  who  earns  her  bread  by  her  daily  toil. 


390  ON  MANUAL  LABOR. 

qucestuaria.  Jesus  was  also  poor,  and  He  employed  His 
divine  hands — the  hands  by  which  the  universe  was  created 
— in  the  rough  and  arduous  toil  of  a  carpenter's  shop. 
It  is  related  that  later  on,  in  the  period  of  His  pubUc 
ministry,  the  Jews,  amazed  at  His  marvelous  knowledge 
and  doctrine,  exclaimed:  "Is  not  this  the  carpenter,  the 
son  of  Mary,  the  brother  of  James  and  of  Simon?"  (Mark 
vi.  3.)  And  He  Himself,  the  divine  Redeemer  and  King, 
said  in  the  prophetic  utterance  of  the  Psalmist:  "I  am 
poor  and  in  labors  from  my  youth"  (Ps.  Ixxxvii.  16). 

We  purpose  in  the  next  chapter  to  contemplate  with 
adoring  gratitude  the  life  of  toil  and  suffering  led  by  the 
God  who  for  us  men  and  for  our  salvation  came  down 
from  heaven ;  at  present  we  merely  state  the  fact  that  He 
labored,  and  point  out  the  existence  of  the  mystery.  Early 
tradition  confirms  what  the  prophets,  the  Gospels  assert. 
St.  Justin,  who  was  martyred  in  the  middle  of  the  second 
century,  records  that  even  in  his  time  agricultural  im- 
plements fashioned  by  the  hands  of  our  divine  Lord  were 
still  exhibited  to  the  faithful. 

After  contemplating  the  sublime  community  of  Naza- 
reth we  will  proceed  to  consider  those  which  the  apostles 
formed.  They  are  spoken  of  as  the  Apostolic  College, 
a  term  which,  applied  to  them,  is  almost  synonymous  with 
community.  Now  we  know  that  the  apostles  labored  in 
the  literal  sense  of  the  word,  even  after  their  vocation  to 
the  apostolate  and  during  the  days  of  glory  and  triumph 
following  upon  the  Resurrection.  Many  incidents  in  the 
Gospels  afford  proof  of  this.  They  labored  by  night  as 
well  as  by  day.  St.  John,  relating  the  apparition  of  Our 
Lord  on  the  banks  of  the  sea  of  Tiberias,  says  in  reference 
to  St.  Peter  and  some  of  the  other  apostles:  "They  went 
forth  and  entered  into  the  ship,  and  that  night  they  caught 
nothing"  (John  xxi.  3). 

These  examples  are  well  worthy  of  our  attention,  and  well 


ON  MANUAL  LABOR.  391 

calculated  to  silence  those  who,  exaggerating  the  excellence 
of  the  contemplative  life,  deem  themselves  justified 
in  shirking  the  rough  work  which  charity  and  the  mainte- 
nance of  good  order  renders  necessary  in  a  religious  com- 
munity. Let  such  persons  listen  to  what  St.  Paul  the 
great  Apostle,  called  by  God  to  found  so  many  churches, 
to  evangelize  so  many  nations,  says  in  his  epistle  to  the 
Corinthians:  "Even  unto  this  hour  we  both  hunger  and 
thirst  and  are  naked.  .  .  .  We  labor,  working  with  our 
own  hands"  (I.  Cor.  iv.  12).  And  again,  addressing  the 
clergy  of  Miletus,  he  says:  ''  I  have  not  coveted  any  man's 
silver  or  gold,  or  apparel,  as  you  yourselves  know;  for 
such  things  as  were  needful  for  me  and  them  that  are  with 
me  these  hands  have  furnished  "  (Acts  xx.  34).  In  writing 
to  the  Thessalonians  he  is  still  more  explicit:  "Remember, 
brethren,  our  labor  and  toil,  working  night  and  day  lest 
we  be  chargeable  to  any  of  you,  we  preached  among  you 
the  Gospel  of  God''  (I.  Thess.  ii.  9;  II,  iii.  8). 

We  learn  from  the  Acts  of  the  apostles  what  was  the 
work  on  which  the  great  Doctor  of  the  nations  employed 
his  skill ;  the  sacred  historian  tells  us  he  was  a  tent-maker 
by  trade.  St.  Augustine,  speaking  of  St.  Paul's  manual 
labor,  performed  for  charity's  sake  and  in  the  spirit  of 
poverty,  supposes  him  to  have  turned  his  hand  to  any 
kind  of  work,  honest,  useful  work,  that  of  common  laborers, 
such  as  masons,  shoemakers,  not  even  despising  field  work. 

St.  Benedict  recalls  these  splendid  examples  to  the 
mind  of  his  monks,  and  exhorts  them  to  imitate  them  in 
these  words  of  his  Rule:  *' Those  alone  truly  deserve  the 
name  of  ReUgious  who  live  by  the  labor  of  their  hands, 
after  the  pattern  of  the  apostles  and  ancient  Fathers." 

These  words  from  the  pen  of  the  great  patriarch  of  the 
monks  of  the  West  render  it  easy  to  pass  from  the  example 
of  the  apostles  to  that  of  the  monks  of  the  desert.  Here 
a  wide  field  lies  open  before  us.     How  grand  was  the  life 


392  ON  MANUAL  LABOR. 

of  those  saintly  men  who  in  the  solitude  and  seclusion  of 
the  Thebaid  and  other  spots  remote  from  human  habita- 
tions founded  those  vast  monastic  institutions  which 
have  handed  down  their  names  to  posterity !  Prayer,  pen- 
ance, chanting  the  psalms,  spiritual  reading,  such  were 
the  habitual,  ordinary  employments  of  those  fervent 
coenobites,  those  saintly  anchorites.  But  how  large  a  pro- 
portion of  their  time  was  devoted  to  manual  labor,  how 
great  a  part  it  bore  in  their  life  of  penance  and  atonement ! 
One  might  be  inclined  to  wonder  at  this  did  we  not  know 
that  this  arduous  and  toilsome  exercise  appertains  to 
man's  condition  since  the  fall,  in  accordance  with  the 
sentence  God  pronounced,  as  we  have  already  seen,  and 
these  words  of  Holy  Scripture:  "  Man  is  born  to  labor  and 
the  bird  to  fly"  (Job  v.  7).  One  needs  but  to  open  casu- 
ally the  edifying  and  interesting  annals  of  the  early  monks 
in  order  to  meet  with  some  beautiful  and  touching  exam- 
ples by  which  we  should  do  well  to  model  our  life,  not 
indeed  by  imitating  them  exactly,  but  by  imbibing  their 
spirit,  to  stimulate  ourselves  to  lead  a  life  of  real,  assidu- 
ous, unremitting  work. 

Since  it  is  impossible  to  describe  the  work  performed  in 
all  these  monastic  Institutions,  we  will  afford  the  reader 
a  glimpse  of  what  went  on  in  one,  founded  by  St.  Pacho- 
mius,  the  originator  of  the  coenobitic  life. 

The  monks  of  Tabenna  were  all  industrious  workmen, 
busily  engaged  in  the  various  branches  of  manual  labor, 
which  were  required  for  the  welfare,  the  order,  and  the 
prosperity  of  their  monastery.  A  contemporaneous  writer, 
the  eye-witness  of  what  he  relates,  tells  us  that  some  tilled 
the  land,  others  worked  in  the  garden,  in  the  mill,  or  in 
the  bakehouse.  Some  plied  the  arduous  trade  of  the 
smith,  others  wove  cloth,  others  tanned  leather.  Sev- 
eral were  employed  in  manufacturing  sandals  or  making 
baskets  of  different  kinds. 


ON  MANUAL  LABOR.  393 

For  the  maintenance  of  order  those  who  worked  at  the 
same  trade  lived  together,  forming  separate  famiUes;  a 
Prior  was  placed  over  each  of  these  families.  The  Rule 
decreed  that  every  monk  was  to  make  one  mat  every  day. 
Those  whose  time  was  entirely  engrossed  by  other  kinds 
of  work  were  naturally  exempted  from  this  rule ;  yet  such 
was  their  love  of  work,  that  they  found  a  means  of  accom- 
plishing the  appointed  task,  making  the  regulation  mat 
after  the  day  was  done. 

Besides  the  regular,  ordinary  labor,  the  Religious  some- 
times had  to  do  extraordinary  work.  For  instance,  the 
Prior  would  occasionally  take  a  small  number  to  some 
island  in  the  Nile,  or  to  some  neighboring  mountain,  either 
to  cut  the  rushes  that  were  wanted  for  the  manufacture 
of  baskets  and  mats,  or  to  cut  wood  or  collect  herbs  for 
use  in  the  kitchen.  These  excursions  sometimes  lasted  a 
fortnight. 

We  have  every  reason  to  suppose  that  the  monks  of 
whom  we  are  speaking  used,  as  did  the  hermits,  to  place 
themselves  at  the  disposal  of  the  country  people  to  assist 
in  gathering  in  the  harvest.  In  putting  their  hands  to 
such  rough  and  arduous  labor,  they  were  actuated  by 
poverty,  humility,  and  charity. 

We  will  not  enter  in  this  chapter  upon  the  motives 
which  sustained  these  servants  of  God  under  such  fatigu- 
ing and  strenuous  exertion,  as  we  intend  to  do  so  in  the 
next.  What  we  have  related  is  only  the  outcome  of  the 
admirable  humility,  the  spirit  of  perfect  penance  and 
atonement  which  rendered  the  works  of  these  fervent 
coenobites  so  many  sacrifices  of  sweet  savor,  acceptable  to 
God  by  Jesus  Christ. 

Unhappily  their  life  of  toil  was  not  imitated  every- 
where. In  the  time  of  St.  Augustine  there  were  monks 
who,  under  the  pretext  of  more  entire  abandonment  to 
divine  Providence,  chose  to  depend  on  akns,  and  refusing 


394  ON  MANUAL  LABOR. 

to  work,  lived  a  life  of  idleness.  St.  Augustine,  shocked 
at  such  self-delusion  on  their  part,  wrote  a  treatise,  en- 
titled: *'De  opere  monachorum/'  for  the  express  purpose  of 
showing  them  their  error.  That  he  should  do  so  is  suffi- 
cient proof  of  the  importance  he  attached  to  manual  labor. 

In  the  following  century  St.  Benedict,  the  great  law- 
giver of  the  monks  of  the  West,  was  raised  up  by  God  to 
give  fresh  luster  to  the  religious  state.  It  is  well  known 
how  emphatically  he  enjoined  manual  labor  on  his  disciples 
in  the  Rule  he  drew  up. 

In  the  twelfth  century  St.  Bernard  reformed  the  Bene- 
dictine Order,  the  discipline  and  observance  of  the  Rule 
having  become  greatly  relaxed.  On  one  essential  point 
of  the  Rule  he  laid  great  stress,  and  insisted  on  its  revival: 
the  law  of  manual  labor.  We  have  seen  that  he  desig- 
nated its  observance  as  the  monk's  patent  of  nobility. 
Nor  did  he  content  himself  with  rousing  the  neghgent 
monks  to  a  sense  of  their  duty  by  word  alone,  he  set  an 
example  to  them  in  person,  notwithstanding  the  delicacy 
of  his  constitution  and  the  numerous  and  pressing  de- 
mands upon  his  time  and  attention  involved  in  the  mission 
he  had  undertaken. 

His  biographer  relates  that  when,  on  account  of  his 
weak  health,  he  found  work  in  the  harvest-field  too  ardu- 
ous and  difficult  for  him,  in  answer  to  his  prayers,  God 
gave  him  grace  and  strength  to  perform  the  work  easily 
and  well.  At  other  times,  if  the  brothers  were  engaged  in 
labor  that  was  beyond  his  powers,  grieved  at  his  own  im- 
potence to  do  as  they  did,  he  applied  himself  to  tilling  the 
ground,  carrying  wood,  or  some  other  menial  work  which, 
without  overtaxing  his  strength,  enabled  him  to  keep  the 
Rule  of  labor. 

This  fact  is  all  the  more  striking  because,  in  addition  to 
the  great  amount  of  business  he  had  in  connection  with 
ecclesiastical  affairs,  the  frequent  calls   on  his  time  and 


ON  MANUAL  LABOR.  395 

thoughts  by  kings  and  princes  who  consulted  him  about 
weighty  matters,  and  the  extreme  deUcacy  of  his  health, 
he  was  one  of  the  most  eminent  contemplatives  of  his 
age. 

Hitherto  our  illustrations  have  been  borrowed  exclu- 
sively from  the  Orders  of  men,  yet  the  annals  of  the  various 
Communities  of  nuns  abound  likewise  in  edifying  exam- 
ples, which  prove  that  the  Rule  of  manual  labor  was  ad- 
hered to  quite  as  faithfully  by  the  nun  as  by  the  monk, 
although  the  work  in  the  case  of  the  former  was  generally 
of  a  somewhat  lighter  description.  In  the  Book  of  Prov- 
erbs it  is  said  of  the  valiant  woman:  "She  hath  sought 
wool  and  flax  and  hath  wrought  by  the  counsel  of  her 
hands  and  hath  not  eaten  her  bread  idle"  (Prov.  xxxi. 
13,  27). 

In  the  monastery  St.  Pachomius  founded  for  virgins  and 
widows  who  were  desirous  of  consecrating  themselves  to 
God,  the  work  done  by  the  Religious  consisted  principally 
in  manufacturing  linen  and  woollen  material  for  their  own 
use  and  for  that  of  the  monks. 

Yet  examples  of  far  more  arduous  work  are  not  want- 
ing. In  the  life  of  St.  Euphrasia,  who  at  the  age  of  twelve 
years  renounced  the  brilliant  prospects  the  future  offered 
her — she  was  related  to  the  Emperor  of  Constantinople — 
and  entered  one  of  the  numerous  monasteries  for  women 
in  the  Thebaid,  we  read  that  she  strove  to  perfect  herself 
in  humility  and  penance,  and  in  accordance  with  the  com- 
mands laid  on  her,  used  to  carry  heavy  stones,  to  knead 
and  bake  the  bread  for  the  Community,  to  cook  the  meals, 
to  wait  at  table,  to  split  wood,  and  carry  in  the  fagots  for 
use  in  the  kitchen.  Such  were  her  almost  daily  occupa- 
tions; and  at  a  later  period  the  Sisters,  who  had  the 
opportunity  of  observing  her  during  a  whole  year  said  that 
they  had  never  once  seen  her  pause  in  her  work  to  rest. 

Those  persons  might  well  learn  a  lesson  from  this  saint, 


396  ON  MANUAL  LABOR. 

who,  in  spite  of  the  austere-looking  black  veil  they  wear, 
in  spite  of  the  holy  vows  they  have  made  to  God,  seem 
to  expect  and  require  that  their  birth,  their  education, 
their  former  social  position  should  be  taken  into  account 
in  the  convent,  and  be  considered  as  a  reason  for  exempt- 
ing them  from  toilsome  or  menial  work. 

In  Conmiunities  in  which  the  choir  nuns  are  occupied 
with  the  education  of  girls,  it  need  hardly  be  said  that 
manual  labor  is  to  a  great  extent  replaced  by  the  fatigue 
inseparable  from  oral  instruction;  yet  not  altogether.  The 
spouse  of  Our  Lord  would  be  much  to  be  pitied  were  she 
to  forget  that  her  divine  Master  lived  for  thirty  years  as  a 
poor  and  ordinary  artisan. 

The  rough  work  usually  falls  to  the  share  of  the  lay- 
sisters,  the  dear  lay-sisters!  We  rejoice  to  speak  of  those 
good  souls,  who  are  particularly  dear  to  Our  Lord,  if  they 
are  faithful  to  the  grace  of  their  state  and  their  vocation! 
They  may  be  the  means  of  bringing  down  rich  blessings 
on  the  Community  of  which  they  are  members,  provided 
they  cherish  the  humble  spirit  which  we  admired  so  much 
when  contemplating  the  life  of  the  Holy  Family  at  Naza- 
reth. A  lay-sister  (and  we  include  the  portresses  or  tourieres 
under  this  term),  a  lay-sister  who  is  humble,  modest,  self- 
sacrificing,  scrupulously  attentive  to  fulfil  all  that  the  holy 
Rule  and  obedience  enjoins,  careful  and  zealous  in  culti- 
vating the  spirit  of  charity  and  maintaining  it  in  those 
around  her,  always  inclined  to  think  too  much  consider- 
ation is  shown  her  (consideration  which  is  due  to  her  in 
her  character  of  spouse  of  Jesus  Christ);  who  is  indus- 
trious at  her  work,  content  with  her  lowly  position,  serving 
Our  Lord  Hhnself  in  the  person  of  His  spouses  in  the  light 
of  pure  faith,  simply  and  unostentatiously  rating  herself 
as  inferior  to  the  other  lay-sisters,  modestly  showing  kind, 
discreet  attention  to  newly  arrived  postulants,  so  as  to 
encourage  and  at  the  same  time  edify  them;   a  lay-sister, 


ON  MANUAL  LABOR.  397 

we  repeat,  who  is  animated  by  such  sentiments,  is  an  ines- 
timable treasure  to  the  convent  whose  inmates  she  serves. 
We  have,  for  our  consolation,  not  unfrequently  met  with 
these  good  souls,  blest  of  God,  blest  by  their  Superiors. 
For  the  sake  of  their  Community  one  could  wish  they  might 
never  grow  old,  one  could  wish  them  to  be  immortal,  or 
rather  one  would  wish  to  see  an  increase  in  their  number. 
For  the  time  of  their  departure  must  come,  as  the  Holy 
Spirit  Himself  declares,  "that  they  may  rest  from  their 
labors,  for  their  works  follow  them,"  follow  them  to  eter- 
nity. 

A  lay-sister  or  portress  who  is  faithful  to  grace  is  cer- 
tainly a  great  prize  in  a  Community;  and  she  herself  en- 
joys an  inward  peace  which  is  beyond  price.  How  envia- 
ble is  her  state!  She  has,  it  is  true,  to  do  the  rough  work, 
but  she  has  no  heavy  cares  to  trouble  and  worry  her;  she 
will  never  be  placed  in  a  position  of  authority  or  be  con- 
sulted as  to  the  admission  of  a  postulant  or  the  profession 
of  a  novice;  she  will  have  no  voice  in  the  elections,  no 
responsibility  as  to  the  general  condition  of  the  Community 
in  regard  to  fervor  or  the  reverse,  although  she  is  bound  to 
contribute  her  share  to  the  general  edification.  And  at 
the  hour  of  death  she  will  be  leniently  judged;  the  strict 
Judge  will  not  be  severe  upon  her,  for  He  loves  simplic- 
ity, humility,  subordination,  unostentations,  unfailing  de- 
votedness  to  work,  which  are  the  virtues  proper  to  the 
lay-sister.  Yes,  the  path  she  treads  is  a  safe,  and  we  may 
add,  a  smooth  one.  No  wonder  then  that  on  this  account, 
as  well  as  for  higher  reasons,  many  persons,  generous,  holy 
souls,  who  occupied  an  exalted  position  in  the  world,  have 
been  known  to  solicit  a  place  among  the  lay-sisters  of  a 
convent,  as  an  honor  and  special  privilege.  Mme.  Acarie 
asked  and  obtained  this  favor,  when,  after  bringing  the 
Carmelites  to  Paris,  she  enrolled  herself  among  the  daugh- 
ters of  St.  Teresa,  and  took  the  white  veil  under  the  name 


398  ON  MANUAL  LABOR. 

of  Marie  de  I'lncarnation.  Another  and  similar  instance 
occurred  recently  of  one  whose  ambition  it  was  to  be  a 
lay-sister  in  a  Trappist  convent,  but  who  was  less  success- 
ful than  Mme.  Acarie.  The  reader  shall  be  made  ac- 
quainted with  her  story. 

One  day  a  young  lady  of  high  rank  (whose  name  dis- 
cretion forbids  us  to  divulge)  sought  admission  into  a 
convent  of  Trappistines;  and  in  order  to  obtain  her  object 
she  concealed  the  fact  of  her  birth,  her  education,  her 
fortune.  Dressed  as  an  ordinary  servant  and  endeavor- 
ing to  assume  the  manners  and  language  of  the  class  to 
which  she  represented  herself  as  belonging,  she  said  she 
was  only  a  poor  girl,  but  she  had  a  good  will  and  hoped 
to  be  accepted  as  a  lay-sister.  Her  modesty,  simplicity, 
her  frank,  unsophisticated  manner  were  considered  as  a 
sufficient  recommendation;  at  the  time  no  further  inquiries 
were  made.  This  divine  Providence  permitted  in  order 
to  cause  the  humility  of  the  new  postulant  to  appear  more 
strikingly.  She  was  accordingly  admitted  as  a  lay-sister. 
But  she  had  left  her  family  without  acquainting  them 
with  her  intention,  and  the  consequence  may  easily  be 
guessed.  Her  parents  spared  no  pains  to  discover  her 
whereabouts,  and  one  day  they  made  their  appearance 
at  the  convent  where  she  was.  At  first,  in  answer  to  their 
anxious  inquiries,  they  were  told  unhesitatingly  that 
their  daughter  was  not  in  the  house.  The  well-born  young 
lady  had  not  been  recognized  in  the  person  of  the  humble 
postulant.  Presently,  however,  on  closer  questioning  and 
a  more  minute  description,  the  secret  came  out,  to  the 
great  grief  of  the  pious  postulant,  who,  as  her  parents  did 
not  oppose  so  pronounced  a  vocation,  was  forthwith  raised 
from  the  rank  of  a  lay-sister  to  that  of  a  choir  nun.  She 
died  a  few  years  ago,  the  then  Superior  of  her  con- 
vent. 

Can  we  be  deemed  foolish  or  mistaken  in  saying  that 


ON  MANUAL  LABOR.  399 

no  better  wish  can  be  formed  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  a 
Community  than  that  all  the  Sisters,  even  those  who  hold 
important  offices,  may  be  animated  by  the  lowly,  self- 
sacrificing  spirit  of  a  good  lay-sister? 


CHAPTER  IX. 

ON  THE  SANCTIFICATION  OF  MANUAL  LABOR. 

The  sanctification  of  our  labor  depends  entirely  on  the 
part  which  divine  grace  and  the  spirit  of  Our  Lord  hold 
in  that  labor.  If  that  grace,  that  spirit  pervades  and 
animates  our  manual  work,  it  is  hallowed;  if  not  it  is  use- 
less; nay,  it  even  incurs  the  risk  of  being  classed  with 
those  works  to  which  the  prophet  Isaias  refers  when  he 
says:  ''They  have  conceived  labor  and  brought  forth 
iniquity  "  (Is.  lix.  4). 

There  is,  in  fact,  labor  that  is  in  a  certain  sense  com- 
pulsory, since  the  only  reason  for  which  it  is  performed 
is  because  it  is  impossible  to  remain  in  the  Community 
unless  one  submits  to  it,  and  it  is  accomplished  with  no 
love  of  obedience,  no  elevation  of  the  heart  to  God,  no 
thought  of  the  welfare  of  the  religious  House  to  which 
one  belongs.  Now  work  done  in  this  manner  is  abhorrent 
in  God's  sight.  *'  Thou  hast  not  called  on  Me,  O  Jacob," 
He  says  by  the  mouth  of  His  prophet;  ''neither  hast  thou 
labored  about  Me,  O  Israel"  (Is.  xliii.  22);  that  is  to  say, 
in  My  presence  and  according  to  My  will. 

There  is  also  mercenary  or  interested  labor  which  is 
accomplished  not  with  a  view  to  pa)nTient  in  gold  and 
silver,  but  for  the  sake  of  the  reward  of  approving  looks 
and  flattering  speeches.  Labor  of  this  nature  savors  of 
the  world  and  is  unworthy  of  a  soul  who  is  consecrated 
to  God.    There  is  danger  of  such  work  becoming  a  mere 

400 


ON  THE  SANCTIFICATION  OF  MANUAL  LABOR.  401 

sham,  for  when  the  master^ s  eye,  as  the  saying  is,  unfortu- 
nately exercises  so  great  an  influence  upon  our  actions,  there 
is  every  reason  to  fear  that  when  his  eye  is  no  longer  upon 
us  we  shall  lapse  into  sloth  and  carelessness.  Now  what 
else  is  it  but  arrant  hypocrisy  to  appear  active  and  indus- 
trious when  others  can  see  us,  and  to  give  way  to  idleness 
when  no  one  is  by? 

There  is  also  the  labor  which  may  be  said  to  be  done 
in  a  worldly  spirit.  Vainglory,  self-love  have  much  to  do 
with  it.  It  is  very  pleasant  to  be  thought  clever  and 
industrious.  What  does  the  Wise  Man  say?  ''What 
hath  a  man  more  of  all  his  labor  than  he  taketh  under 
the  sun?  Behold  all  is  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit'^ 
(Eccles.  i.  3,  14).  Let  us  scrutinize  our  motives  and  see 
if  some  element  of  self-love  or  of  complacency  in  our  own 
skill  and  ability  does  not  interfere  with,  if  it  does  not 
actually  destroy,  the  merit  of  our  work.  Let  us  beware 
of  choosing  the  work  for  ourselves,  for  we  should  naturally 
be  inclined  to  take  that  which  we  like  best  or  think  most 
suitable  to  our  abilities;  perhaps  we  should  choose  the 
easiest  task,  the  one  requiring  least  exertion,  of  a  less 
menial  nature  than  others.  Possibly  we  might  succeed 
better  in  this  self-chosen  work  than  in  any  other,  but  the 
only  real  success  is  that  which  promotes  the  glory  of  God 
and  our  own  sanctification.  Alas,  it  must  too  often  be 
baid  of  those  who  appear  to  do  most,  as  David  said  of 
the  grass  upon  the  tops  of  houses:  it  withereth  before 
it  be  plucked  up:  wherewith  the  mower  fiUeth  not  his 
hand,  nor  he  that  gathereth  sheaves,  his  bosom"  (Ps. 
cxxviii.  6,  7). 

We  will  now  speak  of  religious  labor  properly  so  called, 
and  see  how  holy  it  is,  how  meritorious  and  pleasing  in 
God's  sight.  As  we  said  at  the  commencement  of  this 
chapter,  in  order  to  be  this  it  ought  to  be  animated  by 
divine  grace,  vivified  by  the  spLit  of  Jesus  Christ.     Now 


402  ON  THE  SANCTIFICATION  OF  MANUAL  LABOR. 

what  is  this  grace,  this  spirit?  We  know  that  Our  Lord 
labored  when  on  earth;  He  performed  many  of  the  tasks 
which  fall  to  om-  share,  and  by  His  work  He  merited 
for  us  the  precious  grace  by  which  our  work  is  sanctified, 
and  to  obtain  which  ought  to  be  our  daily  prayer.  But 
at  the  same  time  that  His  sacred  hands  were  busy,  His 
Heart,  His  Sacred  Heart  was  also  employed.  We  can  not 
express  the  perfection  of  His  inward  dispositions,  but  we 
may  safely  affirm  that  the  work  to  which  the  divine 
Redeemer  applied  Himself  was  performed  in  the  most 
exalted  spirit  and  with  sentiments  which  were  so  many 
acts  of  worship,  of  atonement,  of  humility,  of  charity.  Let 
us  pause  to  contemplate  and  admire  the  beauty,  the  grand- 
eur of  the  feelings  that  inspired  Him. 

Our  adorable  Lord  willed  to  work,  and  by  that  work  in 
the  first  place  He  intended  to  show  respect  to  the  great 
work  of  creation,  when  His  eternal  Father  called  all  things 
into  existence.  As  we  are  told  in  the  Book  of  Genesis: 
God  created  heaven  and  earth,  "and  on  the  seventh  day 
God  ended  His  work  which  He  had  made;  and  He  rested 
on  the  seventh  day  from  all  the  work  which  He  had  done  " 
(Gen.  ii.  2).  Our  Lora  might  have  done  honor  to  the  work 
of  His  heavenly  Father  either  by  interior  acts  of  praise 
or  of  thanksgiving;  in  fact  He  did  this  throughout  His 
whole  life,  but  He  desired  also  to  pay  homage  to  Him  by 
external  acts,  by  working  in  a  manner  analogous  to  the 
work  of  material  creation  which  it  pleased  the  Most  High 
to  perform  in  the  beginning.  This  reflection  may  perhaps 
explain  why  man,  even  in  a  state  of  innocence,  was  obliged 
to  work  in  "the  paradise  of  pleasure,  to  dress  it  and  to 
keep  it"  (Gen.  ii.  15).  Our  Lord  desired  to  manifest  in 
the  most  complete  and  perfect  manner,  both  interiorly 
and  exteriorly.  His  purpose  of  glorifying  His  heavenly 
Father;  thus  His  toil  in  the  workshop  at  Nazareth  may 
be  regarded  as  a  splendid  act  of  homage  to  His  divine 


ON  THE  SANCTIFICATION  OF  MANUAL  LABOR.  403 

Majesty,  a  sublime  ascription  of  praise  to  His  creative 
omnipotence. 

Besides  this  first  intention,  another  motive  actuated  Our 
Lord,  one  which  is  in  more  evident  accordance  with  His 
state  and  character  of  a  victim  for  the  sins  of  mankind. 
The  sentence  passed  upon  the  first  man,  after  the  fall,  was 
this:  "In  the  sweat  of  thy  face  thou  shalt  eat  bread." 
The  second  Adam,  Jesus,  the  Lamb  who  bore  the  sins  of 
the  world,  would  not,  in  His  human  nature,  be  exempted 
from  that  law  of  labor,  consequently  His  youth,  up  to 
the  age  of  thirty  years,  was  passed  in  the  lowly,  toilsome 
work  of  a  carpenter ^s  shop.  His  hands  were  hardened  by 
the  use  of  the  saw  and  the  plane.  His  youthful  shoulders 
were  bent  under  the  weight  of  heavy  planks,  and  drops  of 
sweat  often  moistened  His  brow.  Yet  there  was  nothing 
degrading  in  these  tasks,  despite  His  divine  nature,  for  He, 
Our  God  and  Our  Redeemer,  took  them  upon  Himself;  and 
for  our  salvation,  in  order  to  rescue  us  from  the  bondage  of 
Satan,  He  endured  fatigue  and  humiliation.  He  is  a 
Victim  of  atonement,  and  He  works  like  the  poorest,  meanest 
laborer.  Nonne  hie  est  faberf  "Is  not  this  the  carpen- 
ter?" inquired  the  astonished  Nazarenes,  unable  to  fathom 
this  mystery  of  charity. 

Of  charity  indeed,  for  it  was  for  us  and  not  for  Himself 
that  He  toiled;  it  was  to  expiate  our  sins,  especially  those 
of  sloth  and  self-indulgence,  and  it  was  also  to  set  us  an 
example.  Now  all  this  is  the  work  of  charity.  We 
imagine  also  that  it  was  out  of  love  for  St.  Joseph  that  He 
labored,  especially  when  His  foster-father  was  advanced 
in  years;  with  touching  charity  Jesus  prolonged  His  hours 
of  toil.  We  know  that  He  was  a  devoted  and  loving  son. 
He  worked  also  for  His  Mother's  sake,  to  help  her  and 
spare  her  an  appearance  in  public  which  would  have  been 
a  trial  to  her  love  of  solitude  and  silence.  St.  Bonaventure 
asserts  that  as  Mary  had  no  handmaid  to  carry  home  the 


404  ON  THE  SANCTIFICATION  OF  MANUAL  LABOR, 

needlework  she  had  done,  Jesus  took  this  office  on  Him- 
self, making  Himself  her  servant. 

Thus  the  spirit  of  piety,  of  atonement,  of  humility,  of 
charity,  combine  to  render  the  labor  of  Our  Lord  a  perfect 
holocaust,  worthy  to  be  regarded  with  supreme  compla- 
cency by  His  heavenly  Father.  And  it  is  with  similar 
sentiments  that  the  Religious  fulfils  the  holy  precept  of 
manual  labor,  since  he  is  a  victim  in  union  with  Jesus 
Christ  and  in  the  same  spirit.  We  will  enlarge  some- 
what on  this  point. 

1.  The  Religious  labors  in  the  spirit  of  piety,  accord- 
ing to  Our  Lord's  example,  that  is  to  say,  he  has  the  inten- 
tion of  venerating  the  divine  condescension  of  God  the 
Father,  who  deigned  to  break  the  repose  of  His  existence 
in  eternity,  to  accomplish  in  time  the  vast  work  of  creation, 
of  which  we  ourselves  form  a  part.  Are  we  not,  indeed, 
as  various  passages  of  Holy  Scripture  declare,  the  work 
of  His  hands?  "Thy  hands,"  David  says,  "have  made  me 
and  formed  me"  (Ps.  cxviii.  73).  The  Lord  hath  made 
all  things  for  Himself,  for  His  honor  and  glory.  The 
Religious  will  moreover  venerate  and  adore  the  labor  of 
Our  Lord  Himself  at  Nazareth,  for  that  labor  merits  our 
deepest  reverence.  We  are  in  duty  bound  to  pay  Him 
homage  by  interior  acts  of  admiration,  praise,  love,  and 
thanksgiving;  but  in  our  external,  bodily  labor  there  is  a 
special  act  of  worship  which  is  offered  as  an  oblation  to 
our  divine  Master,  who  being  Our  God  is  Himself  the 
object  of  our  homage.  St.  Paul  seems  to  allude  to  this 
oblation  when  he  exhorts  us  to  "present  our  bodies  a 
living  sacrifice,  holy,  pleasing  unto  God." 

2.  The  Rehgious,  in  union  with  the  adorable  Victim,  per- 
forms his  work  also  in  a  spirit  of  atonement.  Have  we 
not  all  need  for  expiation?  We  are  all  included  in  Adam's 
prevarication,  and  the  terrible  sentence  God  pronounced 
in  His  wrath  was  passed  upon  us.     We  sinned  in  the 


ON  THE  SANCTIFICATION  OF  MANUAL  LABOR.  405 

person  of  our  first  parents,  and  their  chastisement 
rests  upon  us.  But  is  original  sin  the  only  guilt  that 
clings  to  us,  is  there  no  other  reason  in  ourselves,  in  our 
own  life,  why  expiation  is  necessary?  We  have  ourselves, 
by  our  personal  sins  and  shortcomings,  greatly  added  to 
the  heavy  yoke,  which,  as  Holy  Scripture  tells  us,  is  upon 
the  children  of  Adam;  the  retrospect  of  our  past  life, 
as  well  as  the  teaching  of  faith,  warns  us  that  we  have 
much  to  expiate. 

Now  in  the  designs  of  divine  mercy,  work  performed  in 
obedience  and  in  the  spirit  of  faith,  is  ordained  to  be  an 
efficacious,  perhaps  the  most  efficacious  means  of  expiating 
our  past  sins  and  our  daily  faults.  Only  let  us  labor 
earnestly  as  befits  those  who  by  their  profession  have  con- 
stituted themselves  victims,  not  giving  the  stern  name 
of  work  to  occupations  which  are  rather  pleasant  than 
onerous,  which  are  more  of  a  recreation  than  real  labor. 
It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  work  of  our  divine  Spouse, 
from  the  days  of  toil  at  Nazareth  to  the  carrying  of  the 
cross  on  the  via  dolorosa,  was  that  of  a  victim  of  propi- 
tiation. We  are  far  from  wishing  to  assert  that  exhaust- 
ing exertion  and  excessive  fatigue  are  necessary  to  the 
perfection  of  our  life  of  self -surrender.  But  at  any  moment 
circumstances  may  arise  which  may  oblige  the  Religious 
who  has  at  heart  the  welfare,  the  interests  of  the  Com- 
munity, to  undertake  tasks  more  burdensome  than  is 
usual,  entailing  fatigue  and  physical  suffering.  Some- 
times the  suffering  is  but  slight,  at  other  times  it  is  acutely 
felt,  and  then  it  is  that  the  spouse  of  Him  who  toiled  as  a 
lonely  workman,  who  carried  the  burden  of  the  cross,  is 
seen  more  clearly  to  be  a  victim  of  atonement.  If  under 
the  scorching  summer  sun  the  perspiration  trickles  from 
our  brow;  if  in  winter-time  our  work  compels  us  to  struggle 
for  a  longer  period  than  usual  against  the  intense  cold; 
if  the  work  we  have  to  do  is  specially  trying  to  our  patience 


406  0}f  THE  SANCTIFICATION  OF  MANUAL  LABOR. 

on  account  of  the  hindrances  and  difficulties  we  encounter, 
particularly  if  the  difficulties  are  caused  by  the  ignorance, 
thoughtlessness,  or  indifference  of  another  member  of 
the  Community;  if,  when  we  are  engaged  upon  a  task 
which  it  seems  hardly  possible  to  get  done  within  the 
limited  time  at  our  disposal,  a  wish,  perhaps  an  order,  is 
brought,  assigning  to  us  another  task  of  an  opposite  nature, 
Our  Lord  permitting  this  as  a  test  of  our  patience;  if, 
overwhelmed  by  the  stress  of  work,  we  notice  with  a  per- 
ception which  seems  to  be  rendered  keener,  more  clear- 
sighted than  usual,  as  though  some  malicious  sprite  sought 
to  torment  us;  if ,  I  say,  we  see  the  others  by  no  means 
busy,  or  even  at  leisure,  then  a  blessed  opportunity  is 
given  us  to  render  our  work  an  expiatory  sacrifice  most 
pleasing  in  the  sight  of  God,  most  acceptable  to  His  Sacred 
Heart. 

And  if,  when  our  work  is  finished,  it  should  so  happen 
that,  by  some  involuntary  neglect  on  the  part  of  others,  that 
which  appeared  to  us  to  require  the  exercise  of  an  heroic 
constancy  and  good  will  is  treated  as  if  it  were  nothing, 
and  we  are  even  told  that  we  have  done  nothing  extraor- 
dinary and  make  too  much  fuss  about  ourselves — and  this 
may  to  a  certain  extent  be  true,  seeing  how  weak  we  are, 
and  how  exhausted  by  the  unwonted  exertions  we  have 
made — then,  if  we  remain  patient,  gentle,  humble,  calm, 
and  always  ready  to  obey;  if  our  patience  is  supernatural 
and  makes  us  love  our  vocation  more  steadfastly,  that 
patience  will  be  an  expiatory  sacrifice  on  which  the  angels 
will  gaze  with  delight,  I  had  almost  said,  with  envy. 

Various  pious  practices  suggested  by  the  spirit  of  faith 
may  aid  us  in  strengthening  and  confirming  ourselves  in 
these  sentiments  during  our  work;  such  as  the  remem- 
brance of  Our  Lord's  labors  and  sufferings,  the  thought 
of  the  presence  of  God,  reflection  upon  the  four  last  things. 
etc.    But  to  enumerate  these  aids  to  devotion  would  lead 


ON  THE  SANCTIFICATION  OF  MANUAL  LABOR.  407 

us  too  far  afield;  besides  the  pious  reader  will  easily  find 
them  for  himself. 

3.  The  Religious,  in  union  with  our  adorable  Lord, 
applies  himself  to  his  work  in  a  spirit  of  humility  and 
charity.  Humility  and  charity  go  well  hand  in  hand,  or 
more  truly,  they  are  inseparable.  True  humility  is  always 
charitable;  true  charity  is  always  humble.  United,  they 
impart  to  work  when  done  in  a  religious  spirit  a  dignity, 
a  halo  of  supernatural  beauty  which  justly  claims  our 
admiration.  What  indeed  would  the  work  of  the  Religious 
be  worth  if  it  were  not  humble?  One  might  imagine  he 
was  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  we  are  all,  without  exception, 
poor  and  miserable  sinners.  Work  is  a  mark  of  servitude; 
well,  have  we  not  all  deserved  to  wear  fetters  under  the 
tjrannical  dominion  of  Satan?  Let  us  not  deceive  our- 
selves: "Whosoever  committeth  sin  is  the  servant  of  sin," 
Our  Lord  says  (John  viii.  34).  If  we  have  incurred  the 
penalty  of  bondage,  bondage  not  only  in  time  but  in  eter- 
nity, labor,  hard,  strenuous  labor  is  our  fitting  portion. 
It  belongs  to  our  state,  to  our  condition  as  sinners.  How 
weighty  is  this  consideration,  how  well  adapted  to  keep 
us  always  in  our  place,  to  control  our  inclinations  and 
likings  for  this  or  that  work,  to  incite  us  to  conquer  our 
repugnances,  to  stifle  the  movements  of  self-love. 

But  work  viewed  in  this  light  is  in  its  turn  an  aid  to 
humility.  This  is  what  made  one  of  the  old  hermits, 
St.  Dorotheus,  say:  "The  humiliation  of  the  body  pro- 
duces humiliation  of  the  spirit,  and  humiliation  of  the 
spirit  engenders  the  virtue  of  humility." 

Charity  is  also  the  natural  accompaniment  of  the  work 
done  by  the  Religious.  What  value,  what  merit  would 
his  exertions  have  without  that  divine  virtue?  The 
Religious  does  not  work  for  himself  but  for  the  Community; 
were  he  to  work  for  himself,  his  ideas,  his  aims  would  be 
sadly  perverted.     But  humility  prevents  this  harking  back 


408  ON  THE  SANCTIFICATION  OF  MANUAL  LABOR. 

to  self,  and  charity  urges  him  to  sacrifice  himself  for  the 
welfare,  the  relief,  the  consolation  of  all  the  members  of 
the  spiritual  family  to  which  he  belongs.  The  principal 
object  he  has  in  view  is  by  his  work  to  assist  those  who  in 
the  Community  are  God^s  representatives.  He  would  fain 
accomplish  the  impossible,  multiply  his  powers,  in  order 
by  the  proceeds  of  extra  work  to  relieve  the  anxieties 
which  often  weigh  heavily  on  the  Superior,  especially  in 
the  initial  stages  of  a  foundation.  He  knows  that  the 
superiors  can  not  share  to  any  great  extent  in  the  exertions 
which  tax  the  physical  strength,  yet  they  have  troubles, 
worries,  and  cares  which  are  more  wearing  to  those  who 
bear  them  than  "the  burden  of  the  day  and  the  heats. ^' 

If  humility  and  charity  are  the  faithful  companions  of 
his  labor,  the  Religious  will  be  only  too  glad  to  contribute 
to  the  ease  of  those  members  of  his  Community  who  are 
tried  by  sickness  or  infirmity.  It  is  a  grateful  thought 
to  the  heart  of  one  who  is  true  to  his  vocation  to  know 
that,  thanks  to  his  labor,  his  exertions,  his  sick  or  weak 
brethren  need  not  resume  their  work  until  the  return  of 
health  and  strength  enables  them  to  do  so;  that  the  days 
of  the  older  inmates  of  the  monastery  may  be  prolonged 
by  the  complete  cessation  of  arduous  toil.  These  pious 
thoughts,  permeated  as  they  are  with  humility,  are  most 
pleasing  to  the  Heart  of  the  Most  High. 

We  must  here  add  a  remark  that  is  pecuHarly  appro- 
priate to  the  age  in  which  we  live.  We  have  said  how 
pitiful  are  the  pretensions  of  one  who,  having  occupied 
a  good  position  in  the  world,  and  had  considerable  wealth 
at  her  disposal,  imagines  that  to  be  a  reason  for  exempting 
her  from  menial  work  in  the  convent.  Such  a  spirit  is, 
in  fact,  most  reprehensible.  Now,  however,  we  say: 
Woe  betide  the  Religious  who,  imbued  with  no  less  hateful 
a  spirit,  the  spirit  of  the  day,  which  aims  at  the  leveling 
of  classes,  which  would  obliterate  all  social  distinctions, 


ON  THE  SANCTIFICATION  OF  MANUAL  LABOR.  409 

the  distinctions  of  birth,  rank,  or  other  legitimate  claims 
to  preeminence,  which  are  in  fact  ordained  by  divine 
Providence!  Woe  betide  the  Religious  who,  contaminated 
by  this  proud  spirit,  has  no  consideration,  makes  no 
allowance  for  those  who  have  given  up  all  for  the  sake 
of  monastic  poverty  and  obedience!  How  blessed  of 
God,  on  the  other  hand,  is  the  humble  Religious,  the  lowly 
lay-sister — ^for  with  her  we  are  principally  occupied  at 
present — ^who,  filled  with  respect,  deference,  self-sacrificing 
kindness  for  those  of  her  Sisters  who  in  the  world  would 
have  been  her  mistresses,  does  her  work  carefully,  con- 
scientiously, simply,  telling  herself  it  is  only  right  to  spare 
those  whose  health  is  more  valuable  than  hers,  disliking 
to  see  those  on  a  par  with  herself  who  in  virtue  of  their 
birth,  education,  or  rather  by  the  ordinance  of  divine 
Providence,  would  in  the  world  occupy  a  station  far  above 
her. 

Such  sentiments  are  admirable,  one  may  almost  say 
heroic;  but  what  reason  is  there  to  think  they  can  not 
become  habitual  to  the  privileged  souls  to  whom  Our 
Lord  vouchsafes  to  call  His  spouses? 

Great  blessings  indeed,  blessings  of  every  description 
are  attached  to  work  thus  supernaturalized.  There  are 
blessings  for  time,  for  those  who  work  in  this  spirit  are 
preserved  from  dangerous  temptations,  they  enjoy  peace 
of  mind  and  of  heart,  the  joy  of  a  good  conscience,  the 
happiness  of  contributing  to  the  common  well-being;  and 
there  are  blessings  for  eternity,  for  it  is  the  lowly,  unassum- 
ing servant  who  has  been  faithful  in  a  little,  who  will  enter 
into  the  joy  of  His  Lord.  By  the  lips  of  the  Psalmist  the 
Holy  Spirit  epitomizes  all  these  blessings  in  the  second 
verse  of  the  127th  Psahn :  "Thou  shalt  eat  the  labors  of  thy 
hands,  blessed  art  thou  and  it  shall  be  well  with  thee." 
Lahores  manuum  tuarum  quia  manducabis,  beatus  es  et 
bene  tibi  erit. 


CHAPTER  X. 

ON  THE   CHAPTER  OF  FAULTS. 

The  chapter  of  faults  is  an  assembly  of  all  the  members 
of  the  Conmiunity,  in  which  they  accuse  themselves  publicly 
of  the  external  faults  which  they  have  committed  against 
the  Rule,  the  regulations  of  the  House,  and  the  known 
will  of  the  Superior.  These  accusations  do  not  comprise 
interior  faults  of  any  kind,  but  only  those  which  are  an 
infraction  of  the  external  order. 

This  practice  has  always  been  much  esteemed  in  fervent 
Communities.  It  is  as  ancient  as  monasticism  itself. 
St.  Basil  expressly  enjoins  it  in  his  Rule,  and  St.  Antony 
would  even  have  had  it  include  faults  of  thought  as  well 
as  of  deed.    This  practice,  however,  has  never  obtained. 

We  have  no  intention  of  enumerating  the  various  faults 
which  are  transgressions  of  the  monastic  rules.  Every 
Community  has  its  own  directorium,  or  book  of  customs, 
mdicating  these  faults  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  the  Re- 
hgious  to  make  his  or  her  examination. 

Nor  is  it  necessary  to  describe  the  manner  of  conducting 
the  chapter  of  faults,  the  forms  observed,  the  order  in 
which  the  Religious  come  forward,  the  formula  of  self- 
accusation,  the  recommendations,  etc.  With  these  every 
Religious  is  perfectly  well  acquainted;  besides  they  are 
not  the  same  everywhere.  What  it  behooves  us  to  speak 
of  are  the  dispositions  wherewith  the  declaration  of  faults 
is  to  be  made,  so  as  to  derive  the  greatest  spiritual  profit 
from  it.  The  exercise  is  a  most  useful  one,  if  performed 
in  the  right  dispositions. 

410 


ON  THE  CHAPTER  OF  FAULTS.  411 

First  of  all  let  the  Religious  prepare  carefully  for  the 
self-accusation  he  is  about  to  make,  in  order  that  it  may 
be  correct,  thoroughly  humble  and  perfectly  simple.  If 
he  does  it  in  this  spirit,  when  he  kneels  down  to  accuse 
himself,  his  declaration  will  have  much  the  same  effect 
as  that  of  the  Sacrament  of  Penance,  although  it  is  no 
sacrament. 

Let  him  then  stand  forth  before  his  brethren,  bearing 
his  humiliation  in  the  same  posture  of  mind  as  the  adorable 
Victim  Himself,  who  never  ceased  to  feel  the  inward  shame 
attaching  to  His  character  of  a  victim  of  atonement, 
acknowledging  that  on  Him  were  laid  the  sins  of  the  world, 
and  on  the  strength  of  that  conviction,  prepared  to  bear 
all  manner  of  pains  and  penalties.  The  Religious  will 
find  this  humble,  loving  union  with  Jesus  as  a  victim  a 
source  of  strength,  supposing  that  nature  shrinks  from 
the  statement  of  his  faults.  Surely  he  will  have  courage, 
if  Jesus  humbled  Himself  for  love  of  us,  to  humiliate  him- 
self out  of  love  for  His  divine  Master,  to  cultivate  an 
interior  and  exterior  likeness  to  Him  by  an  act  which  is 
notably  that  of  a  victim. 

Another  consideration  which  will  prove  of  signal  assist- 
ance to  him  in  profiting  by  the  declaration  of  faults,  ia 
this:  that  it  would  not  be  too  great  a  penance  for  oui 
sins  were  we  obliged  to  confess  them  all  publicly,  even 
the  most  secret  and  disgraceful  ones.  And  the  Religious 
ought  to  repair  to  the  chapter  resolved  to  do  so,  should 
obedience  (to  put  an  impossible  case)  require  it.  Thus 
disposed  he  will  make  his  self-accusation  of  the  faults 
which  are  only  external  infractions  of  the  Rule  with  all 
the  more  modesty,  sincerity,  and  humility. 

We  now  come  to  the  declaration  itself.  In  prostrating 
ourselves  before  our  Superior,  let  us  call  to  mind  Our 
Lord  in  the  Garden  of  Olives,  lying  prone  upon  the  earth, 
Jost  in  self-abasement  before  the  maiesty  and  sanctity 


412  ON  THE  CHAPTER  OF  FAULTS. 

of  His  Father.  How  acutely  He  felt  the  shame  of  sin, 
how  intense  was  His  abhorrence  of  sin,  how  ardent  was 
His  desire  to  make  satisfaction  to  the  just  wrath  of  His 
heavenly  Father !  Let  us  deeply  imbibe  these  sentiments 
and  make  our  self-accusation  in  a  quiet,  well-modulated 
voice,  in  a  humble  yet  intelligible  manner,  avoiding  all 
peculiarities  and  exaggeration,  only  intent  on  atoning  for 
our  faults  to  the  edification  of  the  Community. 

If  perchance  one  of  the  external  faults  of  which  we 
accuse  ourselves  is  merely  an  oversight,  which  can  scarcely 
be  said  to  be  blameworthy,  no  matter;  we  must  accuse 
ourselves  of  it  quite  frankly,  without  even  appearing  to 
attempt  to  excuse  ourselves.  For  if  this  fault  is  not  repre- 
hensible in  God's  sight,  how  many  others  are  so,  faults 
of  which  the  Community  knows  nothing.  The  humility 
which  prompts  us  to  accept  undeserved  blame  will  earn 
for  us  mercy  and  the  pardon  of  many  other  faults  known 
only  to  Him  who  searches  all  hearts.  Moreover,  good 
examples  are  all-important  to  the  Community,  and  we 
are  expected  to  give  edification.  If  therefore  we  have 
caused  disedification,  let  it  be  seen  that  we  regret  our 
fault,  and  if  we  love  our  brethren  and  our  Order,  our 
regret  will  be  real  and  heartfelt. 

As  a  general  rule  after  the  declaration  of  faults  come  the 
recommendations.  These  are  the  accusations  publicly 
brought  by  the  other  brothers  against  the  Religious  who 
has  been  accusing  himself,  and  who  remains  kneeling  in 
the  midst  of  the  assembly.  These  accusations  likewise 
are  confined  to  faults  against  the  Rules  of  the  house,  and 
are  usually  very  ordinary  and  common  ones.  This  fresh 
trial  may  be  a  source  of  great  grace  to  the  Religious  who 
listens  to  the  charges  brought  against  him,  and  to  all  the 
Community  who  are  witnesses  of  the  humility  and  sim- 
plicity wherewith  he  receives  these  accusations. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  they  ought  to  be 


ON  THE  CHAPTER  OF  FAULTS.  413 

made  only  from  the  twofold  motive  of  charity  toward 
one's  neighbor  and  the  zeal  with  which  every  religious 
ought  to  be  animated  for  the  maintenance  of  regular 
discipline. 

The  monks  of  old,  more  simple  perhaps  than  we  are, 
held  very  much  to  this  declaration  of  faults;  they  were 
convinced,  as  St.  Bona  venture  says,  that  the  Communities 
most  deserving  of  admiration  are  not  those  in  which  no 
faults  are  committed,  for  that  can  not  be,  but  those  in 
which  faults  are  corrected  most  thoroughly. 

St.  Bernard  speaks  with  authority  when  he  says:  '^Let 
no  one  take  it  into  his  head  to  conceal  the  faults  of  others; 
let  no  one  say:  Am  I  my  brother's  keeper?  Let  no  one 
show  indifference  if  he  sees  the  good  order  of  the  Community 
likely  to  be  disturbed,  monastic  regularity  and  discipline 
endangered.  For  by  silence  one  gives  consent  to  the 
irregularity,  if  it  is  one's  duty  to  disclose  and  denounce  it, 
since  we  know  that  the  same  punishment  is  laid  up  for  him 
who  commits  the  fault  and  him  who  connives  at  it." 

Thus  the  accusations  have  been  instituted  to  promote 
the  welfare  of  the  Orders  and  of  each  of  the  members  com- 
posing them. 

But  in  what  dispositions  ought  they  to  be  received? 
This  is  preeminently  the  time  when  one  must  in  all  humil- 
ity and  simplicity  of  faith  contemplate  our  adorable  Lord, 
who  took  upon  Himself  the  sins  of  the  world,  and  who, 
during  His  Passion,  had  a  number  of  misdeeds  and  crimes 
brought  against  Him.  St.  Bernard  expressly  counsels  us 
to  do  this.  Jesus  held  His  peace,  the  evangelists  tell  us. 
"He  shall  be  led,"  the  prophet  Isaias  says,  ''as  a  sheep 
to  the  slaughter,  and  He  shall  not  open  His  mouth  " 
(ch.  liii.  7).  What  was  the  reason  of  this  silence?  Why 
did  the  divine  Victim  endure  this  interior  and  exterior 
shame  without  speaking  a  word?  Was  it  not  because  He 
knew  that  having  taken  upon  Himself  the  sins  of  all 


414  ON  THE  CHAPTER  OF  FAULTS. 

mankind,  He  deserved  on  that  account  all  the  insults, 
all  the  accusations  that  were  brought  against  Him?  If 
therefore  we  are  so  happy  as  to  appreciate  the  grace  of 
our  vocation,  we  shall  listen  in  himiility  of  heart  to  the 
accusations  of  our  brethren;  in  the  first  place  because 
being  sinners  ourselves  we  ought  to  wish,  for  truth's  sake, 
that  others  should  know  us  for  what  we  are;  and  in  the 
second  place,  because  as  Religious  we  should  consider 
ourselves  bound  to  make  atonement  for  the  sins  of  the 
world. 

The  Religious  who  feels  thus  will  be  grateful  to  his 
brethren  for  accusing  him  of  his  faults;  and  if  it  happens 
that  mistakenly,  or  perhaps  purposely  (which  God  forbid!) 
he  is  falsely  accused,  let  him  bear  it  as  becomes  one  who 
is  a  sinner. 

When  the  declarations  and  the  recommendations  are 
finished,  the  Superior  gives  the  Religious,  who  is  still  on 
his  knees,  whatever  penance  he  thinks  right.  Some- 
times he  adds  a  few  words  of  correction  or  rebuke.  Self- 
love  must  be  destroyed;  and  if  it  does  not  receive  its 
deathblow,  it  certainly  is  due  to  no  fault  on  the  part  of 
the  saints  and  founders  of  Orders,  seeing  what  means 
they  have  devised  in  order  to  reduce  it  to  its  last  gasp. 

The  Religious  who  is  eager  to  grow  in  the  grace  of  his 
vocation  will  derive  from  this  exercise  an  increase  of 
spiritual  consolation.  He  rejoices  to  be  treated  in  this 
manner,  and  thanks  God  that  justice  is  administered  so 
mercifully  here  below.  At  the  same  time  humility  strikes 
deep  root  in  the  upturned  soil  of  his  soul.  He  rises  from 
his  knees  strengthened  and  encouraged  for  the  perform- 
ance of  his  sacred  duties,  and  carries  away  with  him  his 
penance  as  a  precious  treasure  which  he  will  employ  for 
the  greater  perfection  of  his  life  of  self-surrender,  and  the 
reprimand  as  a  useful  lesson  on  which  his  thoughts  will 
dwell  lovingly,  and  by  which  lie  will  regulate  his  conduct. 


ON  THE  CHAPTER  OF  FAULTS.  415 

Thus  his  brethren  will  be  edified  and  the  angels  filled 
with  admiration. 

But  in  proportion  as  such  sentiments  are  edifying  and 
admirable,  the  contrary  ones  are  odious  and  contemptible. 
It  is  with  reluctance  that  we  speak  of  them^  even  briefly, 
lliere  are,  however,  some  ill-conditioned  Religious  who 
listen  to  the  accusations  of  their  brethren,  the  reproof  of 
their  Superior,  in  a  spirit  of  foolish  pride  and  want  of 
charity,  and  not  venturing  to  complain  or  protest, 
they  keep  silence,  humble  themselves  exteriorly,  while 
interiorly,  abusing  the  grace  by  which  they  ought  to  profit, 
they  pose  as  victims,  victims  hateful  in  God's  sight,  proud 
and  misguided  victims,  deserving  of  compassion  from  every 
point  of  view.  How  baneful  is  such  a  spirit,  hideous  and 
repulsive  as  leprosy!  Alas  for  the  Religious  who  feeds  on 
such  poison!  He  imagines  himself  to  be  a  victim,  but  a 
victim  is  humble  and  simple  and  never  considers  himself 
to  be  sufficiently  humiliated  and  chastised.  A  true  victim 
always  agrees  with  those  who  accuse  or  condemn  him; 
he  invokes  blessings  on  them  for  acting  so  kindly  and 
charitably  toward  him;  hence  his  soul  is  always  tranquil 
and  at  rest.  The  other,  on  the  contrary,  turning  the 
divine  remedy  into  poison,  only  prepares  sorrow  and 
suffering  for  himself  in  time  and  perhaps  a  miserable  fate 
for  eternity.  May  the  God  who  received  the  vows,  the 
oblation  of  such  unhappy  souls  at  their  profession,  have 
compassion  on  them  and  restore  to  them,  with  the  grace 
of  their  vocation,  the  substantial  happiness  of  humility. 

As  for  the  Religious  who  take  no  part  in  the  chapter  of 
faults,  either  in  the  self-accusation  or  the  accusation  of 
others,  let  them  make  the  declaration  silently  in  tacit  union 
with  their  brethren,  accusing  themselves  with  them,  and 
accepting  as  if  due  to  themselves  the  penances  and  reproof 
given  to  those  who  are  privileged  to  accuse  themselves 
openly. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

ON  THE  PENANCES  PERFORMED  IN  COMMUNITY. 

The  penances  which  form  part  of  the  Rule  in  religious 
Congregations  may  be  divided  into  two  classes:  those  in 
which  all  the  Community  take  part,  either  in  public  or 
otherwise,  such  as  fasts,  disciplines,  etc.,  and  others  which 
are  performed  only  by  one  or  more  of  the  Religious  in 
presence  of  the  whole  Community,  these  being  either  the 
penances  imposed  in  the  chapter  of  faults  or  on  occasion 
of  some  casual  fault,  or  merely  by  permission  of  the 
Superior. 

Penances  of  this  nature,  which  we  designate  as  penances 
performed  in  community,  are  the  only  ones  which  will 
occupy  our  attention  in  this  chapter;  but  what  we  say 
concerning  the  dispositions  in  which  they  ought  to  be 
performed  will,  of  course,  apply  equally  to  all  kinds  of 
mortifications. 

These  penances  date  from  the  earliest  times,  and  they 
have  every  claim  to  our  respect  as  having  contributed 
to  the  sanctification  of  many  a  saint;  and  if  some  of  them 
appear  to  be  out  of  keeping  with  the  spirit  of  our  times,  it  is 
the  levity  of  this  degenerate  age  that  is  at  fault,  not  the 
admirable  simplicity  of  our  predecessors  in  Religion. 
However  the  selfsame  penances  bequeathed  to  us  by  the 
example  of  the  ancient  Fathers  are  still  practised,  and  with 
the  same  pristine  simplicity,  in  all  Congregations,  provided 
the  spirit  of  the  Order  and  independence  of  the  exigencies 
of  the  age  permit  of  their  adoption. 

416 


ON  PENANCES  PERFORMED  IN  COMMUNITY.    417 

As  a  rule  they  take  place  in  the  refectory,  sometimes  in 
the  chapter-room,  or  to  the  inside  door  of  the  church  or 
of  the  choir. 

In  general  they  are  physically  painful  as  well  as  humili- 
ating. Some  are  only  humiliating,  in  order  that  all  the 
Religious  may  take  part  in  them,  whatever  the  state  of 
their  health. 

We  shall  speak  first  of  all  of  the  dispositions  essential  to 
the  right  performance  of  these  penances;  afterwards  we 
shall  enter  somewhat  into  detail  respecting  the  principal 
penances  in  use  in  religious  Communities. 

A  fervent  Religious  will  always  set  himself  with  a  good 
will  to  accomplish  the  penances  imposed  by  the  Superior, 
either  in  the  chapter  of  faults  or  because  of  some  inci- 
dental infraction  of  the  Rules,  some  cause  of  disedification, 
or  disturbance  of  the  regular  order.  He  will  not  show 
the  slightest  sign  of  repugnance,  however  ignominious  the 
penance  may  be,  because,  through  the  effect  of  divine 
grace,  he  does  not  in  reality  feel  any  voluntary  aversion  to  it. 

He  also  accomplishes  it  with  punctuality,  exactitude,  and 
BimpUcity,  being  careful  to  adhere  closely  to  what  obedience 
or  custom  prescribes.  He  detests  all  kind  of  singularity. 
Humiliation  is  to  him  nothing  more  or  less  than  a  means 
of  acquiring  humility.  He  even  experiences  a  certain 
spiritual  joy  in  doing  penance,  remembering  what  St.  Paul 
says  of  our  adorable  Lord:  Proposito  sibi  gaudio,  susti- 
auit  crucem,  conjusione  contempta.  ''  Who  having  joy  set 
before  Him,  endured  the  cross,  despising  the  shame " 
(Heb.xii.2). 

Moreover  these  dispositions  of  promptness,  exactness, 
humility,  gladness  derive  their  reality  and  their  strength 
from  union  with  our  dear  Lord  in  His  victim's  life  of 
self-oblation;  and  our  penances  are  nothing  but  a  faint 
reflection  of  His  humiliating  and  bitter  Passion.  Who 
could  ever  estimate  aright  the  intense  suffering,  the  a^ful 


418  ON  PENANCES  PERFORMED  IN  COMMUNITY. 

ignominy  of  that  adorable  Passion!  Who  could  realize 
all  that  was  involved  in  the  cruel  flagellation,  the  crowning 
with  thorns,  the  insults  and  derision,  the  white  robe,  the 
purple  mantle,  the  blindfolding,  the  spitting  upon  His 
sacred  countenance!  Alas,  my  God,  how  effeminate  we 
are!  Miserable  creatures  that  we  are,  we  shrink  from 
letting  others  see  us  humiliated,  we  are  ashamed  of  doing 
penance  which  we  think  will  lower  us  in  the  eyes  of  our 
brethren.  What  is  all  we  do  but  child's  play  compared 
with  the  ignominy,  the  torture  inflicted  on  Our  Lord! 
But  we  will  unite  our  penances  to  His,  we  will  accomplish 
them  in  honor  of  His  infinite  objection,  we  will  vivify 
them  with  that  spirit  of  sacrifice  which  animated  Our 
Redeemer  in  His  endurance  of  humiliations  and  suffer- 
ings on  so  vast  a  scale;  like  Him,  when  doing  what  morti- 
fies our  pride  and  our  sensuality,  we  will  cherish  a  profound 
abhorrence  of  sin,  a  fervent  desire  to  expiate  it,  a  generous 
eagerness  to  render  to  God  the  glory  of  which  our  sins  and 
the  sins  of  mankind  have  deprived  Him;  let  us  do  this, 
and  all  our  penances,  be  they  ever  so  mean,  ignominious, 
grievous,  will  be  not  only  tolerable  but  desirable,  and 
prove  a  source  of  sanctification  and  merit. 

We  shall  now  enter  into  fresh  details  on  this  subject 
and  mention  some  of  the  chief  penances  done  in  Com- 
munity. 

These  are  principally:  To  pray  with  one's  arms  extended 
in  a  cross,  to  kiss  the  feet  of  the  Brothers,  to  kiss  the 
ground,  to  beg  for  one's  meals  in  the  refectory,  to  lie  pros- 
trate at  the  door  of  the  refectory  or  of  the  choir. 

To  pray  with  one's  arms  extended  is  a  touching  act, 
since  it  forcibly  recalls  the  painful  attitude  and  the  prayers 
of  Our  Lord  upon  the  cross.  The  Religious  who  performs 
this  penance  ought  to  keep  his  mental  gaze  fixed  on  his 
divine  Exemplar,  the  victim  offered  up  on  Calvary,  who, 
during  three  long  hours  of  excruciating  agony  remained 


ON  PENANCES  PERFORMED  IN  COMMUNITY.    419 

with  arms  outstretched,  nailed  to  the  cross  of  shame,  im- 
ploring mercy  and  pardon  for  unhappy  sinners  in  general 
and  for  us  in  particular.  What  petitions  did  He  address 
to  His  Father  in  heaven,  justly  angered,  but  willing  to  be 
propitiated!  How  anxious  He  was  to  make  atonement  I 
how  intense  was  His  hatred  of  sin.  His  desire  to  save  souls ! 
Let  the  lowly  Religious  strive  to  enter  into  the  mind  of 
the  Redeemer  and  entertain  similar  sentiments  when 
he  prays  with  arms  outstretched  in  the  presence  of  his 
brethren. 

The  posture  he  adopts  on  this  occasion  will  also  remind 
him  that  he  ought  himself  also  to  be  truly  crucified  by 
mortification  and  obedience.  By  exhibiting  himself  thus 
to  his  fellow-Religious,  he  manifests  his  contrition  for  hav- 
ing given  so  poor  an  example  of  the  virtues  essential  to 
the  Religious,  and  his  purpose  for  the  future  to  seek  to 
say  with  the  Apostle:  Christo  confixus  sum  cruci.  "With 
Christ  I  am  nailed  to  the  cross''  (Gal.  ii.  19). 

The  penance  which  consists  in  kissing  his  brethren's  feet 
will  recall  to  his  remembrance  that  Our  Lord,  on  the  eve 
of  His  sacrifice,  knelt  before  His  apostles  and  washed  their 
feet,  as  if  He  intended  this  to  be  the  preliminary  act  of  the 
great  drama  to  be  enacted  on  Calvary  on  the  morrow. 
What  infinite  self-abasement  on  His  part!  And  how 
touching  to  behold  Him  rendering  this  menial  service  to 
Judas !  Let  the  Religious  kneel  at  the  feet  of  each  one  of 
his  brethren,  animated  by  the  spirit  of  charity  and  humil- 
ity wherewith  Our  Lord  was  actuated;  let  him  kneel  at 
their  feet,  not  only  in  deed  whilst  performing  his  penance, 
but  remain  there  in  spirit,  acknowledging  in  all  sincerity 
that  he  is  not  worthy  even  of  so  humble  a  place. 

At  the  same  time  let  him  raise  his  heart  to  God,  humbly 
asking  pardon  for  the  bad  example  he  has  given  to  his 
brethren,  for  his  ill-judged  acts,  his  impatience  and  rash 
judgments. 


420  ON  PENANCES  PERFORMED  IN  COMMUNITY. 

Or  again,  he  may  behold  Our  Lord  in  each  one  of  his 
brethren,  and  enter  into  Magdalen's  feelings  when  she 
kissed  the  sacred  feet  of  Jesus,  and  bathed  them  with  her 
tears. 

When  he  is  ordered  to  kiss  the  ground,  let  him  do  so  with 
the  intention  of  honoring  the  himMliation  of  Our  Lord, 
who,  being  in  the  glory  of  the  Father,  came  down  to  earth 
to  appear  amongst  us,  as  the  prophet  says,  ''as  a  worm 
and  no  man"  (Ps.  xxi.  7);  or  let  him  think  upon  the 
Redeemer  prostrate  upon  the  earth  in  the  Garden  of 
Olives,  or  falling  beneath  the  weight  of  the  cross  on  His 
way  to  Calvary. 

If  the  penance  to  be  done  consists  in  prostrating  one's 
self  at  the  door  of  the  choir  or  refectory  while  the  Com- 
munity are  passing,  let  us  remember  the  humiliation  Our 
Lord  endured  in  being  in  a  certain  sense  excluded  from 
heaven,  and  on  account  of  having  taken  on  Himself  the 
sins  of  mankind,  regarding  Himself  as  unworthy  to  enter 
again  into  His  glory  until  He  had  suffered  the  cruel  death 
of  the  cross,  as  He  Himself  told  the  two  disciples  on  the 
way  to  Emmaus.  Again,  one  may  find  it  useful  to  think 
of  the  humble  penitents  in  the  first  ages  of  Christianity 
who  implored  with  tears  and  entreaties  the  intercession 
of  the  faithful,  to  obtain  for  them  forgiveness  of  their  mis- 
deeds and  the  privilege  of  re-admission  to  the  assembly  of 
the  Christians. 

The  act  of  begging  one's  meals  in  the  refectory  may 
remind  us  that  Our  Lord  endured  hunger  and  thirst,  that 
He  lived  upon  alms,  and  that,  as  tradition  records,  more 
than  once  He  begged  His  bread,  both  when  in  Egypt,  and 
during  the  three  days  of  His  loss  in  Jerusalem  when  He 
was  twelve  years  old.  In  the  selfsame  spirit  of  humility 
wherewith  He  was  animated  we  appeal  to  the  charity  of 
our  brethren  for  the  food  necessary  for  our  sustenance, 
acknowledging  ourselves  to  be  unworthy  to  sit  at  table 


ON  PENANCES  PERFORMED  IN  COMMUNITY,    421 

with  the  children  of  God,  unhappy  prodigals  who  have 
wasted  our  portion  of  Our  Father^s  substance. 

Sometimes  a  Religious  is  condemned  to  take  his  repast 
apart  from  the  others,  sitting  on  the  ground ;  in  that  case 
let  him  entertain  the  same  spirit  of  humility.  It  is  said  of 
St.  Francis  of  Assisi  that  one  day  whilst  at  table,  his 
thoughts  recurred  to  the  divine  Infant  at  Bethlehem, 
lying  on  straw  in  the  manger;  he  forthwith  rose  from  his 
place  and  seated  himself  on  the  floor,  saying:  "How  can 
I  eat  my  dinner  sitting  comfortably  at  the  table,  when'  my 
Saviour  was  laid  on  a  bed  of  straw?" 

There  are  many  other  penances  in  use  in  religious  Com- 
munities, but  it  is  superfluous  and  indeed  inadvisable  to 
enumerate  them  here.  The  essential  point  is  that  the 
spirit  of  faith  should  pervade  and  vivify  penitential  prac- 
tices which  in  themselves  are  valueless,  and  sometimes 
may  even  appear  strange.  But  what  can  be  called  strange 
which  is  done  for  Christ's  sake,  and  in  imitation  of  His 
state  of  humiliation  and  abjection?  Can  we,  in  perform- 
ing these  humiliating  acts,  equal  the  ignominy  endured 
by  Our  God?  And  is  our  self-love  so  far  from  being 
extinguished  that  we  must  needs  still  treat  it  with  con- 
sideration? 

Let  us  then  accomplish  our  penances  humbly  and  bravely, 
saying  with  the  Royal  Psalmist:  "Before  the  Lord  who 
chose  me  ...  I  will  both  play  and  make  myself  meaner 
than  I  have  done,  and  I  will  be  little  in  my  own  eyes 
and  .  .  .  I  shall  appear  more  glorious ''  (II.  Kings  vi.  22). 


CHAPTER  XII. 

ON  RELIGIOUS  MODESTY. 

Modesty  is  a  moral  virtue  which  regulates  the  whole 
exterior  of  the  Religious  for  the  edification  of  his  neighbor. 

All  the  virtues  are  befitting  to  the  Religious,  but  of 
modesty  one  may  say  that  it  is  identical  with  the  state 
he  has  embraced.  In  fact,  is  it  not  true  that  the  very 
idea  we  conceive  of  one  who  is  consecrated  to  God  is  the 
idea  of  a  person  who  is  modest  and  unassuming;  and 
that  when  we  speak  of  the  manners,  the  deportment,  the 
demeanor  of  a  ReHgious,  it  is  the  same  as  if  we  said 
a  modest  manner,  a  modest  deportment,  a  modest  de- 
meanor? 

This  fact  is  worthy  of  note.  Whence  is  it  that  so  close 
a  connection  exists  between  these  two  terms?  Undoubtedly 
it  is  because  the  Religious,  being,  in  virtue  of  his  profession, 
entirely  dedicated  to  God,  and  a  real  victim  before  His 
divine  Majesty,  a  victim  never  released  from  the  altar  of 
sacrifice  until  his  holocaust  is  consummated,  lives  in  a 
continual  sense  of  God's  presence.  Now  the  reader  will 
understand  that  this  divine  presence  has  the  direct  effect 
of  impressing  on  those  who  live  in  it  that  exterior  modesty 
which  we  so  much  admire  in  them,  for  the  sense  of  God's 
presence  is  the  source  and  principle  of  all  true  modesty. 

Furthermore,  this  divine  presence  is  felt  to  a  certain 
extent  by  the  persons  who  hold  intercourse  with  Religious 
who  are  faithful  to  the  grace  of  their  vocation;  and  here 

422 


ON  RELIGIOUS  MODESTY.  423 

we  see  the  verification  of  St.  Paul's  words;  for  these  holy 
souls  "glorify  and  bear  God  in  your  body"  (I.  Cor.  vi.  20)  ; 
they  obey  his  exhortation:  ''Put  ye  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ"  (Rom.  xiii.  14).  The  sight  of  such  persons  is 
indeed  most  impressive  and  edifying. 

The  first  characteristic  of  modesty  is  simplicity.  Mod- 
esty, says  St.  Ambrose,  should  be  simple  and  natural; 
if  it  were  forced  and  affected  it  would  be  most  displeasing. 
It  is  clear  that  modesty  must  be  simple;  one  can  not 
imagine  anything  else ;  any  element  of  mannerism,  affecta- 
tion or  pretentiousness  about  it  would  render  it  hyper- 
critical and  intolerable.  Just  as  the  truly  modest  Religious 
edifies  and  gladdens  all  with  whom  he  lives,  so  one  whose 
modest  exterior  is  only  due  to  a  false  and  feigned  humility 
is  disliked  by  all  around  him. 

The  Religious  who  is  truly  modest  is  simple,  because,  as 
has  already  been  said,  he  is  peacefully  conscious  that 
God's  eye  is  continually  upon  him,  and  this  consciousness 
renders  him  always  equable,  always  alike  well-behaved, 
punctual,  in  fact  all  that  a  Religious  ought  to  be  either 
in  the  company  of  others  or  when  alone  in  his  cell. 

He  is  simple  because  he  has  one  single  aim,  that  of  pleasing 
God,  in  whose  sight  he  lives,  to  whom  he  pays  faithful, 
respectful  homage.  Remembering  that  Our  Lord  said: 
"So  let  your  light  shine  before  men  that  they  may  see 
your  good  works  and  glorify  your  Father  who  is  in  heaven  " 
(Matt.  v.  16).  The  Religious  has  the  general  edification 
at  heart,  and  he  fulfils  this  duty  of  giving  edification  far 
better  by  his  modesty  than  by  an  austere  life  and  rigid 
exactitude;  but  in  all  he  seeks  God's  glory  alone.  Of 
the  respect  which  can  not  fail  to  accrue  to  him  on  account 
of  his  conduct,  he  takes  no  heed.  He  is  a  victim  laid 
on  the  sacrificial  altar;  his  posture,  his  state  have  refer- 
ence to  God  only,  and  the  incense  burned  in  his  honor  con- 
sequently ascends  to  God;  the  faithfulness  with  which  he 


424  ON  RELIGIOUS  MODESTY. 

perfonns  all  that  his  character  of  victim  demands  of  him 
only  tends  to  God's  greater  glory.  Every  one  perceives 
this  character  and  does  so  all  the  more  clearly  because 
his  perfectly  unassuming  manner  proclaims  it;  all  his 
thoughts  are  of  God,  to  whom  he  offers  his  holocaust. 

In  this  do  we  not  see  the  liberal  fulfilment  of  St.  PauFs 
admonition  to  the  Philippians:  ^'Let  your  modesty  be 
known  unto  all  men;  the  Lord  is  nigh  "  (Phil.  iv.  5). 

True  modesty  is  simple,  and  in  its  simplicity  altogether 
supernatural.  Not  indeed  as  we  see  it  sometimes  shown 
by  persons  in  the  world,  who  are  naturally  modest;  and 
consequently  manifest  it  outwardly;  it  is  wholly  and 
solely  by  the  grace  of  Jesus  Christ  that  the  Religious  dis- 
plays this  virtue.  He  only  desires  to  resemble  thereby  his 
divine  Lord,  for  he  knows,  as  St.  Gregory  Nazianzen  says, 
where  Christ  is,  there  modesty  will  necessarily  be.  This 
fair  virtue  was  specially  dear  to  Our  Redeemer;  it  shone 
forth  in  a  wondrous  manner  in  His  person,  His  words, 
His  bearing,  His  behavior,  and  His  gentle,  unassuming 
manner  was  the  means  of  leading  unhappy  sinners  to 
approach  Him  with  confidence,  of  drawing  the  multitudes 
after  Him.  St.  Paul  seems  to  intimate  this  when,  de- 
sirous of  obtaining  what  he  asked  from  the  Corinthians, 
he  said:  '^I  beseech  you  by  the  mildness  and  modesty  of 
Christ  "(II.  Cor.  x.  1). 

"When  I  think  of  Jesus,"  says  St.  Bernard,  "I  picture 
to  myself  a  man  who  is  meek  and  humble  of  heart,  kind, 
temperate,  chaste,  compassionate,  who  shall  not  break 
the  bruised  reed,  nor  extinguish  the  smoking  flax;  who  is 
neither  gloomy  nor  hasty,  whose  speech  is  without  bitter- 
ness, whose  conversation  is  never  wearisome;  a  most 
agreeable  companion,  in  whose  society  one  feels  cheerful 
and  happy."  What  is  this  but  the  portrayal  of  modesty 
in  its  perfection? 

The  Greek  poet  Euripides  (if  we  may  quote  a  heathen 


ON  RELIGIOUS  MODESTY.  425 

author)  designates  modesty  as  the  most  perfect  of  the 
gifts  of  the  deity;  now  Jesus  Christ  is  the  most  perfect 
gift  of  the  Deity;  He  is  modesty  personified.  Again  we 
say  with  St.  Gregory:    Ubi  Christus,  ihi  modestia. 

Now  the  good  Rehgious  has  this  great  Exemplar  ever 
before  his  eyes.  He  desires  to  bear  His  likeness  in  the 
sight  of  God  and  man;  he  desires  to  be  clothed  with  the 
modesty  of  his  divine  Master  as  with  a  garment,  to  put 
on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  as  St.  Paul  would  have  us  do; 
he  wishes  for  no  other  ornament,  no  other  glory,  for  he 
knows,  as  the  same  Apostle  tells  us,  that  modesty  is  one 
of  the  chief  adornments  of  the  elect,  holy  and  beloved  of 
God  (Col.  iii.  12). 

Viewed  in  this  light,  modesty  is  one  of  the  principal 
sources  of  blessing  to  a  Religious  House.  A  few  devout 
souls  who  practise  it  in  its  perfection  are  enough  to  impart 
a  fragrance  to  the  whole  Community;  as  it  were  to  compel 
their  fellow-Religious  to  imitate  so  fair,  so  attractive  an 
example.  St.  Jerome  says:  ''The  presence  of  Religious 
who  are  truly  modest  is  a  constant  lesson  in  regularity, 
recollection,  silence,  to  those  who  do  not  practise  sufficient 
self-control  in  speech  and  action.  They  are  the  means 
of  fining  the  cloister,  of  maintaining  the  standard  of  holi- 
ness, because  their  example  stimulates  devotion  in  others 
and  inspires  them  with  a  longing  for  heavenly  things." 
Yes,  it  may  well  inspire  a  longing  for  heavenly  things, 
since  modesty  is  in  truth  a  reflection  of  celestial  beauty; 
and  if  we  could  imagine  an  angel  come  down  to  earth  and 
dweUing  among  us,  he  would  be  in  features,  in  mien,  in  his 
whole  exterior  an  embodiment  of  modesty.  The  descrip- 
tion of  a  visit  paid  by  Pope  Innocent  II.  to  the  Abbey 
of  Clairvaux  in  1131,  illustrates  what  has  been  said. 
The  historian  says: 

"The  virtuous  Pontiff  was  extremely  gratified  by  the 
simplicity,  the  religious  cordiality  of  his  reception.    The 


426  ON  RELIGIOUS  MODESTY. 

monks  came  to  meet  him,  poorly  clad,  bearing  a  wooden 
cross  of  no  very  elaborate  workmanship,  chanting  in 
subdued  and  solemn  tones  befitting  an  Order  of  penance. 
All  the  members  of  the  Pontifical  Court  who  accompanied 
the  Pope  were  struck  by  the  grave  demeanor  of  the  monks 
the  atmosphere  of  sanctity  that  surrounded  these  men, 
who  led  on  earth  an  angeFs  life;  tears  flowed  from  the 
eyes  of  the  attendant  prelates,  while  the  monks,  on  whom 
the  gaze  of  all  was  bent,  kept  their  eyes  fixed  on  the 
ground,  not  once  raising  them  to  look  upon  a  spectacle 
calculated  to  excite  their  curiosity  and  interest  in  a  high 
degree." 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

ON  THE  RULES  OF  RELIGIOUS  MODESTY. 

The  forming  of  a  Religious  is  a  great  work,  not  only 
when  it  is  a  question  of  his  interior  spiritual  training, 
which  consists  in  the  cultivation  of  virtues  such  as  self- 
denial,  humility,  etc.,  but  also  in  as  far  as  it  is  necessary 
to  teach  him  to  acquire  habitually  that  sedate  and  edifying 
exterior  deportment  which  is  known  as  religious  modesty, 
and  which  is  not  less  essential  to  the  perfection  of  his  state. 

The  task  is  undoubtedly  a  long,  a  difficult  one;  it  is  not 
enough,  as  St.  Augustine  says,  that  all  about  the  Religious, 
his  bearing,  manners,  movements,  should  be  in  keeping 
with  the  state  he  has  embraced;  this  perfect  modesty 
must  become  a  second  nature  to  him. 

We  will  give  some  rules  for  the  benefit  of  the  reader  on 
exterior  modesty;  they  are  taken  for  the  most  part  from 
the  writings  of  the  saints,  especially  those  of  St.  Ambrose, 
St.  Bernard,  and  St.  Bonaventure.  The  rules  consist  of 
very  simple  details,  in  which  there  is  nothing  that  could 
be  called  extreme. 

I.  On   the   Expression   of   the   Countenance   and 
General  Demeanor. 

1.  Let  the  expression  of  your  countenance  be  serene, 
frank,  sympathetic,  and  in  general  cheerful  rather  than  sad. 

2.  Endeavor  to  let  your  looks  be  expressive  of  gentleness, 
kindness,  and  a  certain  reserve. 

427 


428      ON  THE  RULES  OF  RELIOIOUS  MODESTY. 

3.  Do  not  allow  your  eyes  to  wander,  casting  restless 
glances  on  one  thing  and  another. 

4.  Do  not  fix  your  eyes  in  a  manner  that  might  be  called 
a  stare  on  the  individual  to  whom  you  are  talking. 

5.  Observe  custody  of  the  eyes,  especially  if  conversing 
with  a  person  of  the  other  sex,  but  let  it  be  in  a  well-bred 
manner,  not  in  a  marked  way  so  as  to  attract  notice. 

6.  In  general  cast  your  eyes  down,  but  without  affecta- 
tion or  constraint. 

7.  Hold  your  head  up,  slightly  bend  forward,  but  do 
not  throw  it  back  or  to  one  side  without  necessity. 

8.  Do  not  turn  your  head  about  hastily  and  quickly. 

9.  Never  allow  yourself  voluntarily  to  betray  by  play 
of  feature  what  is  passing  within,  a  movement  of  passion, 
or  the  disgust  and  aversion  you  may  feel. 

10.  Be  careful  not  to  use  your  handkerchief  or  clear  your 
throat  in  a  noisy  and  obtrusive  manner. 

11.  When  standing  up,  stand  upright  in  a  natural,  not 
forced  manner. 

12.  Do  not  be  always  shifting  your  place  and  changing 
your  position. 

13.  When  seated,  do  not  lean  back  or  to  one  side  if  you 
can  help  it,  and  do  not  assume  a  careless  or  too  easy 
posture. 

14.  Do  not  cross  your  feet,  but  place  them  side  by  side. 

II.  On  Deportment. 

15.  Do  not  walk  hurriedly,  unless  there  is  some  good 
reason  for  haste;  nor  in  a  pretentious  and  stiff  manner. 

16.  Avoid  at  the  same  time  a  slow,  dragging  step. 

17.  Keep  your  hands  still  if  they  are  not  doing  any- 
thing. 

18.  Do  not  put  your  hands  to  your  face  or  to  your  head, 
nor  into  your  pockets,  but  keep  them  in  the  sleeves  of 
your  habit  or  under  your  scapular,  as  the  Rule  may  direct; 


ON  THE  RULES  OF  RELIGIOUS  MODESTY.      429 

19.  Do  not  lay  your  hand  on  any  one,  either  playfully 
or  familiarly. 

20.  Keep  your  arms  and  head  still  unless  there  is  any 
reason  for  moving  them  about. 

21.  Do  not,  when  ascending  the  stairs,  take  two  steps 
at  a  time. 

III.  Rules  for  Recreation. 

22.  On  going  into  recreation  avoid  showing  a  sense  of 
relief  at  emancipation  from  restraint  and  pleasure  at 
the  unloosing  of  your  tongue. 

23.  Beware  alike  of  talking  too  much  and  observing  a 
forced  silence. 

24.  Speak  in  a  quiet,  gentle  tone;  let  your  voice  be  well 
nnodulated. 

25.  Let  your  age  and  the  rank  you  hold  regulate  the  part 
which  you  take  in  conversation. 

26.  Never  interrupt  any  one  who  is  speaking,  especially 
if  it  be  one  of  your  Superiors. 

27.  Never  argue,  but  give  a  pleasant  turn  to  the  con- 
versation if  it  becomes  disputatious. 

28.  When  a  question  is  addressed  to  you,  do  not  answer 
quickly  and  thoughtlessly  without  allowing  the  speaker 
time  to  finish. 

29.  Never  show  signs  of  self-assumption  or  temper, 
or  allow  it  to  be  seen  that  you  are  ill  at  ease. 

30.  Never  talk  about  yourself  for  good  or  for  evil,  or 
dwell  upon  your  infirmities  or  afflictions. 

31.  In  conversation  do  not  put  forward  your  own 
country,  your  family,  your  acquaintances,  and  friends. 

32.  Avoid  sneers  and  sarcastic  speeches  as  something 
detestable. 

33.  Do  not  allow  yourself  to  let  slip  a  vulgar  expression 
or  jest,  or  to  talk  about  worldly  matters. 


430     ON  THE  RULES  OF  RELIGIOUS  MODESTY. 

34.  If  you  narrate  a  pleasing  or  amusing  incident,  do 
so  quite  naturally  and  simply. 

35.  Do  not  attempt  to  be  witty  at  another  person's 
expense,  nor  think  yourself  clever  for  a  play  upon  words. 

36.  Do  not  indulge  in  loud  and  immoderate  laughter. 

IV.  Rules  for  the  Refectory, 

37.  Make  it  your  habit  to  keep  your  eyes  cast  down. 

38.  Do  not  allow  yourself  to  speak,  but  make  use  of 
signs. 

39.  Do  not  look  eagerly  at  the  dishes  on  the  table  or 
at  those  which  are  brought  in  afterward. 

40.  Do  not  eat  quickly  or  with  avidity,  but  observe 
the  rules  of  good  breeding. 

41.  Do  not  allow  your  liking  for  or  aversion  to  any  dish 
that  is  served  be  apparent  to  others. 

42.  Do  not  take  upon  your  plate  more  than  you  want, 
lest  it  be  wasted. 

43.  Take  care  not  to  waste  so  much  as  a  morsel  of  bread. 

44.  If  the  reader  makes  a  mistake  do  not  show  by  word 
or  gesture  that  you  noticed  his  mistake. 

45.  If  you  wait  at  table,  observe  in  your  manner  and 
movements  the  rules  already  given. 

V.  Rules  for  the  Church, 

46.  Let  the  gravity  of  your  countenance,  your  down- 
cast eyes,  your  folded  hands  testify  to  the  spirit  of  faith 
and  piety  wherewith  you  are,  or  ought  to  be  animated. 

47.  Make  your  genuflections  reverently,  without  the 
deliberation  that  savors  of  affectation. 

48.  When  in  your  place  avoid  every  unnecessary  move- 
ment. 

49.  If  you  suffer  from  cold  or  heat,  do  not  let  this  be 
apparent. 


ON  THE  RULES  OF  RELIGIOUS  MODESTY.      431 

50.  Do  your  part  in  the  ceremonies  of  the  choir  ^th 
exactitude  and  uniformity. 

51.  Keep  profound  silence,  moving  about  noiselessly. 

52.  Whatever  your  interior  fervor  may  be,  do  not  let 
it  appear  in  your  manner  of  chanting,  or  by  the  sighs  you 
heave. 

53.  Wlien  no  service  is  going  on,  refrain  just  the  same 
from  letting  your  eyes  wander  or  speaking  needlessly; 
let  your  behavior  be  always  in  keeping  with  the  sanctity 
of  the  place. 

Such  are  the  chief  rules  of  religious  modesty.  It  is  not 
necessary,  as  the  reader  will  perceive,  to  make  heroic 
efforts  in  order  to  observe  them,  but  constant  and  careful 
vigilance  over  one's  self  is  required.  This  vigilance  alone 
would  perhaps  scarcely  be  enough.  One  rarely  finds 
perfect  modesty  in  persons  who  live  in  the  world,  even 
the  most  fervent  and  devout;  in  religious  houses,  how- 
ever, watchfulness  over  one's  self  finds  great  assistance 
in  the  many  means  provided  to  render  it  effectual.  One 
of  the  best  means  of  acquiring  modesty,  says  a  learned 
writer,  consists  in  having  faithful  monitors  about  us  who 
observe  all  we  do,  and  who  tell  us  whenever  we  transgress 
the  rules  of  this  virtue.  Now  there  is  no  lack  of  such 
monitors  in  a  religious  Conmiunity.  Our  Superiors  have 
their  eye  continually  upon  us,  ready  to  warn  or  reprove 
us,  and  our  fellow-Religious  are  also  prompt  in  rendering 
us  this  important  service. 

What  we  are  about  to  say  concerning  mutual  charity 
will  prove  that  we  can  with  all  certitude  count  on  their 
kindness  and  devotedness  in  that  respect 


CHAPTER  XIV.. 

ON  MUTUAL  CHARITY.      THE   EXCELLENCE  OF  THIS   VIRTUE. 

Modesty  is  the  ornament  of  religions  Communities;  the 
common  life,  the  spirit  of  strict  observance,  are  its  safe- 
guard and  the  source  of  its  prosperity;  obedience  is  its 
strength,  chastity  its  glory,  poverty  its  riches,  and  mutual 
charity  its  joy  and  happiness. 

Quam  honum  et  quam  jucundum  habitare  fratres  in  unum  ! 
How  delightful  it  is  for  brethren  who  have  but  one  heart 
and  one  soul  to  live  together,  to  sanctify  themselves 
together,  and  together  to  anticipate,  when  this  exile  shall 
be  ended,  the  bliss  of  their  true  country! 

Then  it  is,  under  these  happy  circumstances,  when  the 
heart  and  soul  of  all  are  united  in  charity,  that  we  may 
echo  St.  Bernard's  words:  Religio,  vita  heata,  vita  ange- 
lorum!  vere  claustrum,  vere  religio  est  paradisus !  "The 
religious  life,  how  blessed  a  life,  the  Hfe  of  angels !  The 
cloister,  the  religious  state  is  a  paradise!"  It  is  the  camp 
of  God  fortified  on  all  sides  by  holy  discipline,  the  dwell- 
ing-place of  the  Most  High,  the  gate  of  heaven. 

We  are  about  to  speak  of  mutual  charity,  of  its  excel- 
lence, and  of  its  works.  One  is  inclined  to  exclaim:  Wliat 
more  beautiful  theme  could  you  choose?  Yet  all  the  vir- 
tues are  so  attractive,  so  lovely,  so  fascinating,  that  as 
each  in  turn  comes  under  our  notice  we  are  ready  to  say: 
What  can  be  more  lovable?    However,  it  xrmst  be  ac- 

433 


ON  MUTUAL  CHARITY.  433 

knowledged   that   charity  is   the  greater.     Major  autem 
horum  est  caritas. 

The  excellence  of  charity.  Charity  toward  God  and 
charity  toward  our  neighbor  are  not  two  distinct  virtues, 
but  one  and  the  same ;  and  this  virtue  is  a  communication 
of  and  participation  in  the  charity  wherewith  God  loves 
us  and  loves  Himself.  The  selfsame  divine  and  eternal 
fire  which  inflames  the  divine  Persons  of  the  Most  Holy 
Trinity  is  poured  forth  upon  us,  and  this  fire  is  the  love 
of  Our  God,  His  love  for  our  souls.  This  sacred  fire  kin- 
dles within  us  love  for  Our  God  and  extends  that  love  to 
our  brethren,  and  our  brethren  are  in  like  manner  inflamed 
with  that  same  love  for  us ;  thus  the  selfsame  fire  of  char- 
ity at  one  and  the  same  time  inflames  and  consumes  God, 
who  is  its  Author,  and  our  souls,  who  are  its  object;  every 
soul,  in  fact,  who  willingly  subjects  herself  to  its  sanctify- 
ing action.  This  is  why  St.  John  simply  says:  "God  is 
charity"  (I.  John  iv.  16);  it  is  the  reason  why  all  the 
works  of  God,  creation,  preservation,  redemption,  sanc- 
tification,  glorification,  are  extolled,  times  without  number 
in  Holy  Scripture,  as  the  work  of  divine  charity;  and 
again,  why  the  first  commandment  is  to  love  God,  and 
why  the  second,  which  is  like  to  the  first,  is  to  love  our 
neighbor.  All,  therefore,  is  epitomized  in  charity,  all  is 
ended  and  consummated  in  charity.  Faith  and  hope  tend 
to  charity;  all  the  virtues  are  perfected  in  charity.  To 
quote  the  passages  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  in  the 
writings  of  the  Fathers,  which  proclaim  this  doctrine, 
would  be  an  impossible  task.  "He  that  abideth  in  char- 
ity, abideth  in  God,  and  God  in  him,''  says  St.  John. 
Again  and  again  he  tells  us  that  the  surest  proof  of  our 
love  for  God  is  our  love  for  our  neighbor.  When  shall  it 
be  given  us  fully  to  comprehend  the  full  beauty  of  this 
divine,  this  incomparable  virtue,  the  focus  and  the  con- 
summation of  all  other  virtues? 


434  ON  MUTUAL  CHARITY. 

Let  us  contemplate  and  adore  the  divine  beauty  of  char- 
ity as  we  see  it  in  Our  God,  Our  Saviour,  and  Our  Victim; 
let  us  adore  it  in  His  heart,  in  His  acts,  in  His  words. 

''Behold  this  Heart  which  has  so  loved  men!''  ''He 
loved  me,"  says  St.  Paul,  "and  delivered  Himself  for  me" 
(Gal.  ii.  20).  "Who  hath  loved  us,"  St.  John  says, 
"and  washed  us  from  our  sins  in  His  own  blood"  (Apoc. 
i.  5).  His  sacrifice  of  Himself  was  imiversal,  absolute; 
it  is  for  all  eternity,  and  His  Sacred  Heart,  the  furnace  of 
charity,  is  the  source  of  that  infinite  sacrifice;  the  flame 
that  consumed  the  holocaust  was  infinite  charity.  Would 
that  it  were  given  us  "to  comprehend,  with,  all  saints, 
what  is  the  breadth  and  length  and  depth  and  height  of 
the  charity  of  Christ,"  the  charity  beyond  compare  of  the 
Heart  of  our  blessed  Lord  and  Saviour. 

Let  us  contemplate  and  adore  this  charity  as  displayed 
in  His  actions. 

It  would  indeed  be  impossible  for  us  to  enumerate  the 
acts  of  charity  which  He  made  for  us  since  the  Incarnation 
up  to  the  present  time,  when  He  abides  with  us  under  the 
veil  of  the  Eucharist;  that  were  a  task  beyond  the  power 
of  angels  to  accomplish.  Let  us  rather  unite  with  them, 
and  above  all  unite  with  Mary,  the  true,  the  perfect  \'ictim 
of  the  Sacred  Heart,  to  pay  our  tribute  of  adoring  love. 
We  will,  however,  devote  a  few  moments  to  the  contempla- 
tion of  the  proofs  of  love  which  He  vouchsafed  to  give  to 
man  during  His  public  ministry. 

We  see  Our  Lord  in  contact  with  all  manner  of  persons : 
His  enemies:  the  Pharisees,  the  Scribes,  the  soldiery, 
Caiphas,  Judas;  with  sinners:  Zaccheus,  Magdalen,  the 
Samaritan  woman,  the  woman  taken  in  adultery;  with 
the  afflicted:  the  widow  of  Naim,  the  poor,  the  lepers; 
with  little  children;  with  His  friends:  Lazarus,  His  dis- 
ciples, His  apostles,  and  especially  St.  John  and  St.  Peter. 

What  marvelous  charity  He  displays  toward  all!    Be- 


ON  MUTUAL  CHARITY,  435 

hold  His  humility,  His  patience  toward  His  bitter,  relent- 
less enemies!  How  lenient  He  is  toward  sinners,  how 
ready  to  forgive  them.  How  tender  and  loving  is  His 
compassion  for  the  afflicted,  the  sorrowing.  He  ''em- 
braces little  children,  and,  laying  His  hands  on  them, 
blesses  them''  (Mark  x.  16).  He  weeps  over  Jerusa- 
lem, the  ungrateful  city,  and  at  the  sepulcher  of  Lazarus, 
His  friend;  He  teaches,  fortifies,  encourages  His  apostles; 
from  St.  Peter,  to  whom  so  much  had  been  given  and  who 
had  denied  Him,  He  only  requires  three  acts  of  love;  He 
allows  St.  John  to  lean  on  His  breast.  "Behold  how  He 
loved  him'*  (John  xi.  36).  His  charity  is  beyond  and 
above  our  poor  conception:  "He  loved  unto  the  end. 
In  finem  delexit." 

We  will  now  consider  the  admonitions  He  gave  by  word 
of  mouth  to  practise  fraternal,  mutual  charity. 

On  the  eve  of  His  death,  after  the  institution  of  the 
Sacrament  of  love,  when  the  unhappy  Judas  had  left  the 
guest-chamber  where  the  Passover  had  been  eaten,  Our 
Lord  opened  His  Heart  to  His  faithful  disciples,  and  said 
to  them  (referring  to  His  bodily  presence  amongst  them) : 
"  Yet  a  little  while  I  am  with  you.  ...  A  new  command- 
ment I  give  unto  you,  that  you  love  one  another;  as  I 
have  loved  you,  that  you  also  love  one  another.  By  this 
shall  all  men  know  that  you  are  My  disciples  if  you  have 
love  one  for  another"  (John  xiii.  35). 

These  glorious  words  may  be  said  to  constitute  the 
complement  of  the  institution  of  the  Sacrament.  Jesus 
gave  Himself  to  His  disciples  in  the  Holy  Eucharist,  and 
now  He  would  have  His  apostles  give  themselves  to  one 
another  by  charity,  so  that  all  might  tend  to  and  find 
its  ultimate  consummation  in  the  unity  of  perfect  charity. 

Our  Lord  says:  "  A  new  commandment;"  why  is  this? 
Because,  as  St.  Augustine  asserts,  by  this  commandment 
He  created  the  new  man,  man  as  he  is  in  the  order  of  grace, 


436  ON  MUTUAL  CHARITY. 

not  that  of  servile  fear,  the  man  after  His  own  Heart; 
or  as  other  interpreters  declare,  to  indicate  that  this 
precept  is  of  an  excellence  beyond  anything  that  man 
can  imagine;  for  Our  Lord  adds:  ^^As  I  have  loved  you, 
that  you  also  love  one  another."  In  fact,  without 
the  grace  of  Christ  Jesus  no  mortal  would  have  been 
capable  of  acts  of  love  of  charity  so  perfect ;  he  could  never 
even  have  conceived  them. 

Again,  Our  Lord  says  a  new  commandment  to  foretell  to 
a  certain  extent  the  unheard-of  acts  of  sublime  heroism 
which  fraternal  charity  would  incite  many  saints  to 
accomplish:  witness  St.  Paul,  St.  Francis  Xavier,  St. 
Vincent  of  Paul,  and  others. 

"A  new  conunandment  I  give  unto  you.  The  com- 
mandment of  My  own  Heart,  which,  if  fulfilled,  is  all- 
sufficient,  for  Move  is  the  fulfrlHng  of  the  law'  (Rom.  xiii. 
10).  It  is  that  you  love  one  another  as  I  have  loved  you." 
What  a  rule  is  here  laid  down  for  Christians!  How  did 
Christ  love  us?  With  what  tenderness,  self-abnegation, 
generosity,  devotedness!  St.  John  sums  up  all  in  these 
subUme  words:  "In  this  we  have  known  the  charity  of 
God,  because  He  hath  laid  down  His  hfe  for  us,  and  we 
ought  to  lay  down  our  lives  for  the  brethren"  (I.  John, 
iii.  16). 

Again,  Our  Lord  says:  "By  this  shall  all  men  know 
that  you  are  My  disciples,  if  you  have  love  one  for  another." 
There  is  the  distinctive  badge,  there  the  unerring  mark 
that  we  belong  to  Jesus  Christ,  that  we  are  His  disciples. 
His  friends,  those  whom  He  will  confess  to  be  His  true 
servants  before  His  Father  and  before  the  holy  angels: 
'Mf  you  have  love  one  for  another."  He  does  not  say: 
If  you  work  miracles,  if  you  undertake  great  enterprises, 
if  you  have  a  high  reputation  for  sanctity,  but:  "If  you 
have  love  one  for  another." 

No  wonder,  then,  that  after  hearing  such  teaching  from 


ON  MUTUAL  CHARITY.  437 

His  lips  the  apostles  should  have  insisted  so  frequently, 
so  emphatically,  in  their  epistles  to  the  early  Christians, 
on  mutual  charity.  We  must  refrain  from  quoting  the 
passages  that  abound  in  the  writings  of  St.  Peter,  St.  Paul, 
St.  John,  or  this  chapter  would  be  interminable;  the 
point  which  it  is  important  to  observe  is  the  fidelity 
wherewith  the  disciples  of  the  apostles  followed  their 
teaching,  and  corresponded  to  the  grace  which  accom- 
panied the  new  commandment  given  in  the  Cenacle.  Holy 
Scripture  thus  eulogizes  their  charity:  *'The  multitude 
of  believers  had  but  one  heart  and  one  soul "  (Acts  iv.  32). 
They  were  but  one,  adds  a  commentator,  because  they  were 
all  united  in  the  charity  of  Christ,  which  is  one. 

St.  Augustine  brings  before  us  the  subject  to  which 
this  work  is  specially  devoted,  by  remarking  that  amongst 
Religious,  whose  name  of  monk  (j^ovos)  signifies  one,  that 
is,  men  who  though  many  are  but  one,  this  perfect  union 
of  heart  and  soul  is  most  fully  realized.  We  shall  see 
how  true  is  this  observation  whilst  speaking  of  the  prac- 
tice of  mutual  charity  in  religious  Congregations. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


ON  CHARITY  OP  MIND. 


Although  the  heart  is  the  seat  and  center  of  charity 
as  St.  Paul  tells  us:  "The  charity  of  God  is  poured  forth 
in  our  hearts  "  (Rom.  v.  5),  yet  it  may  be  said  that  besides 
charity  of  the  heart  there  is  a  charity  of  the  mind  which 
ought  to  precede  and  lead  up  to  it.  What  we  have  called 
charity  of  the  mind  is  in  reality  the  supernatural  esteem 
which  we  entertain  for  our  brethren.  Now  this  inward 
disposition  is  undeniably  a  most  useful,  not  to  say  neces- 
sary, preparation  for  the  affective  and  effective  charity 
which  has  its  seat  in  the  heart,  and  constitutes  its  essential 
foundation. 

We  are  now  going  to  speak  of  this  supernatural  esteem, 
and  we  shall  add  a  few  words  concerning  the  disposition 
which  inclines  us  always  to  take  the  most  favorable  view 
of  our  brethren's  conduct. 

1.  On  supernatural  esteem  for  our  brethren.  This  is  an 
interior  disposition  and  habit  of  mind  which  leads  us  to 
feel  great  respect,  a  sort  of  rehgious  reverence  for  our  breth- 
ren. It  will  be  seen  at  a  glance  that  this  supernatural 
esteem  is  highly  promotive  of  charity.  But  it  behooves 
us  to  ascertain  on  what  this  disposition  is  based. 

It  could  not  have  a  better  foundation  than  it  has,  for 
it  rests  upon  faith,  and  looks  at  all  things  in  the  light  of 
faith.  What  are  the  Religious  with  whom  we  live,  what 
part  do  they  take  in  the  scheme  of  divine  Providence? 

438 


ON  CHARITY  OF  MIND,  439 

What  is  the  notice,  what  are  the  favors  and  privileges 
they  have  received  from  God?  What  is  the  dignity  to 
which  He  has  raised  them,  the  rank  He  has  assigned  them 
in  His  spiritual  kingdom?  What,  in  short,  is  the  work 
His  love  has  wrought  in  them?  To  ask  questions  such 
as  these  is  to  court  glorious  replies;  whatever,  for  the 
matter  of  that,  the  personal  imperfections  of  individual 
souls  may  be.  All  we  have  to  look  at,  to  observe,  is  the 
work  of  God  within  them,  the  marvels  His  grace  has 
effected,  the  sublime  design  that  He  has  realized.  Yea 
indeed,  this  design  is  worthy  of  our  profound  admiration. 

The  soul  of  every  Religious,  as  we  have  said,  is  truly 
and  preeminently  a  spouse  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  if  His 
spouse,  she  is  a  queen,  invested  with  regal  dignity  to  all 
eternity.  She  can  say  in  the  words  of  St.  Agnes:  "My 
Beloved  has  set  His  sign  upon  my  countenance,  that  1 
recognize  no  lover  but  Himself.  Milk  and  honey  exhaled 
from  His  lips,  as  the  blood  from  His  stricken  cheek  im- 
pressed itself  on  mine.  He  has  arrayed  me  in  a  vestment 
of  gold ;  He  has  placed  on  my  arms,  on  my  neck,  costly 
jewels  of  inestimable  value.  He  whom  the  angels  serve 
is  my  Spouse;  He  has  put  a  ring  on  my  finger  and  a  dia- 
dem on  my  brow,  the  wreath  of  an  eternal  alliance."  All 
this  is  true  in  a  mystic  sense  of  the  Religious.  The  opera- 
tions of  divine  grace  are  unseen  by  the  bodily  eye;  the  eye 
of  the  soul  gazes  on  them  with  rapture.  What  are  the 
crowns,  the  regal  insignia,  the  riches  of  earthly  monarchs 
compared  with  the  crowns,  the  celestial  treasures  of  the 
spouses  of  Christ?  What  are  they  for  time,  what  are 
they  for  eternity?  At  the  hour  of  death  all  the  pomp  of 
the  great  ones  of  the  world  will  vanish  Hke  smoke,  while 
the  beauty,  the  glory  of  the  spouses  of  Christ  will  appear 
in  all  their  splendor.  "They  shall  shine,"  as  the  prophet 
says,  "as  the  brightness  of  the  firmament''  (Dan.  xii.  3). 

Here  we  behold  the  work  of  God,  the  marvels  He  effects 


440  ON  CHARITY  OF  MIND. 

in  the  soul  of  the  Religious  in  virtue  of  His  gracious  call, 
and  His  acceptance  of  the  oblation  and  consecration  of 
that  soul  on  the  day  of  her  profession.  When  one  thinks 
of  all  that  the  right  hand  of  the  Lord  has  done,  one  wonders 
that  the  inmates  of  the  cloister,  when  they  meet  one 
another,  do  not  bow  down  in  spirit  with  feelings  of  pro- 
found reverence  for  one  another,  that  they  do  not  kiss  one 
another's  feet  out  of  respect  for  all  that  God  has  done  in 
them.  Far  be  it  from  us  to  recommend  unusual  practices, 
acts  which  are,  to  say  the  least,  peculiar.  Yet  if  one  who 
is  deeply  impressed  with  these  exalted  views  were  to 
regard  his  fellow-Religious  only  in  the  light  of  God's 
countenance,  and,  imbued  with  the  sentiments  thus  engen- 
dered, should  place  himself  in  spirit  at  the  feet  of  those  to 
whom  the  Most  High  has  shown  such  signal  favor,  should 
we  be  justified  in  terming  his  interior  attitude  as  peculiar, 
in  judging  him  to  be  the  victim  of  a  delusion?  By  no 
means;  such  a  one  would  have  known  the  gift  of  God,  and 
his  inward  act  would  be  perfectly  in  keeping  with  that 
which  God  in  His  mercy  had  wrought.  And  if  all  in  a 
religious  House  felt  the  same  way,  what  rich  blessings 
would  accrue  to  them;  how  perfectly  they  would  accom- 
plish their  religious  duties. 

Everything  would  be  the  better  for  it;  but  it  is  evident 
that  charity  would  be  the  chief  gainer,  as  it  would  be 
for  her  a  source  of  strength  and  vitality;  nay  more  (and 
this  of  greatest  value),  she  would  acquire  a  holy  and  super- 
natural character. 

But  perhaps  some  one  will  say:  Are  these  souls,  whom 
God  has  honored  and  favored  in  so  wondrous  a  manner, 
without  faults?  By  no  means;  and  it  must  be  acknowl- 
edged that  these  faults  are  oftentimes  most  regrettable, 
most  annoying,  almost  unbearable.  Even  these  privileged 
souls,  who  are  so  marvelously  honored  and  magnified, 
have  their  bad  habits,  their  littlenesses,  their  oddities. 


ON  CHARITY  OF  MIND.  441 

What  conclusion  are  we  to  draw  from  this?  A  familiaJ 
comparison  will  serve  as  an  explanation. 

Look  at  the  paintings  hung  on  the  walls  of  a  picture 
gallery:  each  canvas  has  two  sides;  there  is  the  one  ou 
which  the  artist's  brush  has  been  busy,  producing  master 
pieces  such  as  Raphael's  Transfiguration  and  Murillo'j 
Assumption,  and  there  is  the  other  side,  on  which  the 
dust  lays  thick.  Which  of  the  two  is  the  one  you  look  at? 
What  would  you  think  of  the  visitor  who,  after  a  cur^ 
sory  glance  at  the  work  of  art  before  him,  should  persist 
in  examining  the  reverse  of  the  canvas,  descanting  upon 
the  dust  and  cobwebs  accumulated  there,  devoting  to 
these  his  time  and  attention?  Well,  the  Religious  would 
do  much  the  same  if,  heedless  of  the  supernatural  beauty 
God  reveals  to  his  spiritual  vision  in  those  with  whom  he 
dwells,  he  were  to  dwell  upon  the  faults  and  imperfec- 
tions of  poor  fallen  human  nature. 

Let  us  carry  on  the  comparison.  The  proprietor  of 
the  pictures  ought  to  pay  attention  both  to  the  painting 
itself  and  the  reverse  of  the  canvas,  lest  the  state  of  the 
latter  should  be  a  disgrace  to  the  work  of  the  artist;  he 
will  notice  the  dust  and  remove  it  when  necessary.  That 
is  what  Superiors  do.  They  observe,  they  study  the  good 
and  the  bad  side  of  the  souls  entrusted  to  their  charge. 
This  is  their  duty.  But  the  ordinary  Religious  only  sees 
the  side  in  which  faith  delights,  and  if  accidentally  he 
perceives  the  other,  he  does  not  take  scandal  at  it;  charity 
prompts  him  to  put  the  best  interpretation  upon  it.  We 
will  say  a  few  words  about  this  particular  disposition. 

2.  Let  us  only  judge  our  brethren  favorably.  The  best 
way  is  not  to  judge  them  at  all.  Perhaps,  however,  it 
will  not  do  to  push  this  advice  too  far.  Father  Faber, 
who  had  great  discernment,  has  said:  "It  is  very  difficult 
to  acquire  the  habit  of  never  judging  others,  and  generally 
it  is  acquired  very  late  in  the  spiritual  life.     But  if  it  is  next 


442  ON  CHARITY  OF  MIND. 

to  impossible  to  break  one's  self  of  the  habit  of  judging, 
and  if  it  is,  besides,  equally  impossible  for  us  to  judge  others 
without  a  breach  of  charity,  let  us  adopt  the  alternative 
of  always  putting  the  best  construction  on  their  conduct." 

Experience  proves  that  by  unremitting  care  and  watch- 
fulness we  may  succeed  before  long  in  only  seeing  the  good 
side  of  our  brethren's  actions;  for  there  always  is  a  good 
side,  and  even  if  in  some  cases  it  is  not  very  easj^  for  us 
to  discover  it,  there  always  remains  the  resource  of  sup- 
posing good  intentions.  Again  we  quote  Fr.  Faber, 
"Has  not  your  past  experience  taught  you,"  he  says, 
"that  as  a  rule  our  most  charitable  interpretations  are 
always  the  truest?  How  often  we  have  erred  in  our 
judgments,  and  this  was  almost  invariably  when  they 
were  most  severe.  Every  day  something  of  this  kind 
occurs.  Something  appears  to  be  clear  as  daylight,  there 
is  no  possibility  of  viewing  it  otherwise;  we  have  turned 
the  matter  over  and  worked  ourselves  up  to  a  proper  pitch 
of  virtuous  indignation.  All  at  once  the  affair  is  cleared 
up  in  the  most  simple  and  natural  manner,  so  that  we 
are  lost  in  astonishment  that  we  never  thought  of  this 
elucidation.  How  often  have  we  been  deceived  when 
we  put  the  most  favorable  construction  on  our  neighbor's 
conduct?  The  times  might  be  counted  on  less  than  the 
ten  fingers  of  our  hands." 

Therefore  let  us  always  suppose  the  existence  of  good 
intentions,  especially  in  a  religious  Community,  where  no 
one  would  do  wrong  deliberately.  It  is  through  inadver- 
tency, through  the  frailty  of  human  nature,  or  some 
inveterate  habit  which  the  individual  at  fault  struggles 
to  eradicate,  and  which  despite  his  good  will  has  got  the 
better  of  him,  that  he  has  erred.  Or  one  may  say  to  one's 
self:  No  doubt  he  had  permission  to  act  thus,  or  the 
case  was  urgent  and  admitted  of  no  other  course;  besides 
many  things  might  be  wrong  for  us  which  are  positive  acts 


ON  CHARITY  OF  MIND.  443 

of  virtue  in  another  whose  ideas  of  piety  and  punctuality- 
differ  from  ours.  The  Superior  may  form  his  own  judg- 
ment concerning  what  is  decidedly  an  irregularity;  but  the 
inferior  should  always  throw  a  veil  of  charity  over  these 
peccadilloes;  and  if  it  is  necessary  to  publish  them  in  the 
chapter,  let  him  do  so  out  of  zeal  for  discipline  and  the 
general  edification,  and  also  in  the  hope  of  being  useful 
to  his  brother  in  the  work  of  his  sanctification,  which  he 
pursues  fervently,  without  the  consciousness  of  having 
unwittingly  offended  his  God. 

Every  one  has  heard  of  the  hermit  who,  when  at  the 
point  of  death,  said  with  holy  confidence:  ''Now  that  I 
am  about  to  appear  before  the  tribunal  of  divine  justice,  I 
feel  no  apprehension.  God  Himself  said:  'Judge  not, 
that  you  may  not  be  judged.'  I  can  safely  assert  that 
throughout  my  whole  life  I  never  judged  any  one.'' 

What  happy  security !  What  sweet  peace  would  be  ours 
if,  not  content  with  never  putting  an  evil  construction  on 
the  conduct  of  others,  we  only  thought  well  of  them!  He 
whose  habit  it  is  always  to  think  kindly  of  others  is  not  far 
from  becoming  a  saint.  Words  can  not  express  the  beauty 
of  his  soul.  His  life  is  like  the  serene  eventide  of  a  sum- 
mer's day.  It  breathes  the  calm,  the  fragrance,  the  repose 
of  evening;  all  noises  are  hushed,  the  landscape  wears  its 
fairest  hues  and  the  soul  enjoys  a  happiness  which  is  an 
earnest  of  heavenly  bliss. 


CHAPTER  XVI, 

ON  CHARITY  OP  THE  HEART. 

Charity  of  the  heart  may  be  defined  as  supernatural 
sympathy.  Jesus  Christ  is  always  and  in  all  things  our 
first,  our  great  Exemplar;  and  in  order  that  we  may 
perceive  more  clearly  the  close  connection  existing  between 
this  tender  and  loving  dispositian  of  the  Heart  of  Jesus 
and  His  state  of  a  victim,  St.  Paul  speaks  of  His  com- 
miseration for  us  as  appertaining  to  His  character  of 
High-Priest.  "We  have  not,"  he  says,  "a  High-Priest 
who  can  not  have  compassion  on  our  infirmities,  but  one 
tempted  in  all  things  such  as  we  are;"  that  is,  in  His 
Passion  and  in  His  condition  of  a  victim  (Heb.  iv.  15). 
And  elsewhere  he  says:  "Who  loved  me  and  delivered 
Himself  for  me  "  (Gal.  ii.  20). 

St.  Paul  also,  who  was  so  deeply  imbued  with  the 
grace  of  Christ,  of  whom  St.  Chrysostom  said  that  he  had 
the  heart  of  our  adorable  Lord,  bore  witness  himself  that 
he  fulfilled  the  sublime  duty  of  interior  charity.  Writing 
to  the  Corinthians  he  says:  "Who  is  weak  and  I  am  not 
weak?"  (II  Cor.  xi.  29).  That  is  to  say,  who  is  afflicted 
and  suffering  with  whom  I  do  not  suffer,  with  whom  I  am 
not  afflicted?  To  the  Galatians  he  writes  that  of  them 
he  is  in  labor,  until  Christ  be  formed  in  them  (Gal.  iv.  19); 
and  he  exhorts  the  Colossians  to  "put  ye  on  therefore  as 
the  elect  of  God,  holy,  and  beloved,  the  bowels  of  mercy  " 
(Col.  iii.  12).  He  bids  the  Romans  to  love  one  another, 
with  the  charity  of  brotherhood;    to  rejoice  with  them 

444 


ON  CHARITY  OF  THE  HEART.  445 

that  rejoice  and  weep  with  them  that  weep.  Finally  he 
makes  use  of  this  excellent  comparison:  In  the  body  "if 
one  member  suffer  anything  all  the  members  suffer  with 
it,  or  if  one  member  glory  all  the  members  rejoice  with  it," 
adding:  "Now  you  are  the  body  of  Christ  and  members  of 
member"  (I  Cor.  xii,  27). 

What  powerful  words  are  these!  They  are  addressed 
to  all  the  faithful  in  general;  but  are  they  not  particularly, 
preeminently  appHcable  to  Religious?  They  have  all 
things  in  common;  everything  is  the  same  for  each  one: 
rules,  constitutions,  customs,  food,  clothes,  exercises. 
And  ought  not  they  to  be  of  one  heart?  It  is  charity  of 
the  heart  that  effects  true  union,  spiritual  unity. 

Charity  of  heart  rejects  and  repels  all  that  is  opposed 
to  it:  coldness,  harshness,  rancor.  It  delights  in  the 
dispositions  that  are  proper  to  it:  kindness,  commiseration, 
solicitude  on  behalf  of  others;  it  applies  itself  to  that 
which  is  the  best  proof  of  its  sincerity:  prayer  for  others. 
We  will  devote  a  short  space  to  the  consideration  of  these 
three  points. 

1 .  What  is  diametrically  opposed  to  charity  of  the  heart 
is  voluntary  coldness,  harshness,  etc.  These  are  opposed 
to  charity,  but  they  are  also  opposed  to  all  that  is  good; 
opposed  to  inward  peace,  to  outward  serenity;  a  hindrance 
to  the  action  of  divine  grace  and  to  the  perfect  efficacy  of 
the  sacraments.  Never  let  us  permit  this  icy  blast,  this 
poison,  this  pestilence  to  effect  an  entrance  into  our  soul. 
Some  one  has  offended  us,  hurt  our  feelings,  been  wanting 
in  consideration  and  attention  toward  us.  Well,  what 
does  that  prove?  If  we  are  sincere  we  shall  tell  ourselves 
that  it  simply  shows  that  we  ought  to  make  our  noviceship 
over  again  to  learn  better  that  without  humility,  renuncia- 
ation,  death  to  self,  we  may  indeed  wear  the  religious  habit, 
but  we  are  far  from  having  acquired  the  spirit  of  religion. 

Again,  some  one  has  not  behaved  properly  to  us,  and 


446       ON  CHARITY  OF  THE  HEART. 

we  are  inwardly  agitated,  perturbed,  full  of  unkind  thoughts 
toward  the  offender.  What  then?  How  long  is  this 
state  of  mind  to  last?  One  day,  two  days?  The  storm 
must  be  allayed;  should  we  like  to  die  with  such  senti- 
ments in  our  heart?  If  all  this  must  be  ended,  why  should 
we  willingly  allow  the  poison  to  circulate  in  our  system 
another  hour,  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  a  single  instant? 

There  are  however  dislikes,  natural  antipathies  which 
one  does  not  know  how  to  overcome.  St.  Francis  calls 
these  miseries  the  temptations  of  the  saints;  that  is  in 
itself  an  encouragement.  We  will  quote  his  words: 
"Our  Mother  (St.  Jane  Chantal)  will  perhaps  acquaint 
you  with  my  fear  lest  the  little  foxes  should  creep  into 
our  vineyard  (a  new  foundation)  and  destroy  the  vines; 
I  refer  to  the  aversions  and  dislikes  which  are  the  tempta- 
tions of  the  saints.  Stifle  them  at  their  birth.  Keep  your 
charity  bound  up  (bandee)  and  let  everything  be  suspect 
in  your  eyes  which  may  prove  contrary  to  unity,  to  mutual 
forbearance,  to  the  reciprocal  esteem  which  you  ought  to 
entertain  for  one  another." 

See  how  the  saint  recommends  his  spiritual  daughters 
to  be  on  their  guard  against  indulging  dislike  and  aversion. 
He  bids  them  bind  up  their  charity,  that  is  to  say,  not  let 
it  waver,  to  concede  nothing  to  nature,  and  he  enjoins 
reciprocal  esteem.  We  have  always  this  resource  which 
faith  gives  us. 

2.  The  dispositions  proper  to  interior  charity  are  kind- 
ness, commiseration,  etc.;  to  rejoice  with  them  that 
rejoice,  and  weep  with  them  that  weep.  One  who  is  truly 
charitable  does  not  hold  himself  aloof  from  what  interests 
the  Community  or  any  individual  member  of  it.  He  is 
none  the  less  simple,  humble,  peaceful  because  the  joys 
and  sorrows  of  his  fellow-Religious  affect  him  as  much 
as  if  they  were  his  own.  St.  Gregory  says  as  much  in 
one  of  his  homilies,  and  he  adds  a  remark  which  tallies 


ON  CHARITY  OF  THE  HEART.  447 

well  with  the  leading  idea  of  this  work:  "What  holocaust 
is  to  be  compared  to  a  sacrifice  offered  by  one  who,  ani- 
mated by  a  generous  will,  inamolates  himself  on  the  altar 
of  his  own  heart?" 

Wherefore  if  one  of  the  members  of  the  Community  is 
sorely  tried;  if  he  is  afflicted,  tempted,  suffering;  if  another 
seems  to  fall  away  from  his  pristine  fervor,  if  a  newly 
admitted  postulant  thinks  he  can  not  persevere,  a  novice 
makes  no  progress,  a  professed  member  is  tempted  to 
leave  the  Congregation;  the  trials,  the  needs  of  all  these 
souls  are  felt  more  or  less  poignantly  by  the  Religious  in 
whose  heart  charity  reigns  supreme.  In  his  sympathy, 
his  anxiety  for  them  he  would  fain  help  them.  Render 
them  the  services  they  need  and  which  he  is  at  liberty  to 
render;  nay,  if  his  desire  were  sanctioned  by  obedience, 
he  would  offer  himself  to  God  as  a  propitiatory  victim, 
in  virtue  of  his  vocation,  to  bear  their  troubles  and  atone 
in  his  person  for  their  coldness  and  half-heart edness. 

We  will  give  two  examples  of  this  spirit  taken  from  the 
life  of  Blessed  Margaret  Mary. 

"One  evening,"  her  biographer  relates,  "Sister  Margaret 
Mary  besought  Our  Lord  to  make  known  to  her  the  means 
whereby  she  might  satisfy  her  desire  to  love  Him.  He 
intimated  to  her  that  she  could  testify  her  love  for  Him 
in  no  better  manner  than  by  loving  her  neighbor  for  His 
sake ;  that  she  ought  to  make  it  her  endeavor  to  bring  about 
the  salvation  of  sinners  and  of  her  Sisters  in  religion, 
although  she  was  the  most  unworthy  of  them  all,  and 
forget  her  own  interests  to  study  theirs  in  everything 
she  did.  As  she  did  not  quite  understand  what  was  meant 
by  this.  Our  Lord  told  her  that  what  He  wanted  was  the 
revival  of  charity  in  the  hearts  of  men,  since  by  the  want 
of  charity  they  had  fallen  away  from  Him,  Himself  perfect 
charity,  and  by  their  sins  in  that  respect  both  seculars 
and  Religious  did  not  scruple  to  offend  against  that  divine 


448       ON  CHARITY  OF  THE  HEART. 

virtue  of  charity  which  has  its  fount  and  source  in  the 
Heart  of  God  Himself.  'It  is  these  half-corrupt  mem- 
bers, only  fit  to  be  cut  off,  which  cause  Me  so  much  pain/ 
He  said.  'They  would  long  ago  have  received  the  chastise- 
ment they  merit  were  it  not  for  their  devotion  to  My 
holy  Mother.  This  appeases  the  wrath  of  My  justice, 
which  demands  the  sacrifice  of  a  victim.'  'I  was  so  deeply 
touched  by  that,'  Sister  Margaret  added,  'that  I  would 
gladly  have  accepted  every  kind  of  torture,  even  the  pains 
of  purgatory,  until  the  day  of  judgment,  in  order  to  satisfy 
His  divine  bounty.'  " 

The  other  trait  is  taken  from  the  deposition  of  one  of 
the  nuns  of  the  Visitation  when  the  first  official  inquiry 
was  made  for  the  process  of  beatification.  The  witness 
affirmed  that  the  Superior  of  the  Visitation  at  Paray, 
Mere  Greyifie,  being  subject  to  violent  attacks  of  headache, 
Sister  Margaret  Mary  besought  God  to  let  her  bear  these 
pains  instead  of  her  Superior,  because,  as  she  said,  the 
Superior  was  necessary  to  the  Community  and  she  was 
not.  In  fact  M.  Greyffi^  had  for  three  months  no  return 
of  headache,  while  B.  Margaret  Mary  had  the  pain  in 
her  place.  But  when  the  Mother  Superior  learned  this,  she 
said  to  her:  "If  suffering  is  good  for  us,  as  we  know  that 
it  is,  I  wish  to  profit  by  it  as  well  as  you."  Not  long 
after  the  Mother  Superior  had  a  return  of  the  pains,  and 
Margaret  Mary  was  free  from  them  for  the  future. 

Thus  we  see  that  the  soul  in  whom  the  charity  of  Christ 
reigns  supreme  delights  in  self-sacrifice;  that  is  the  first 
but  by  no  means  the  only  consolation  wherewith  her 
divine  Spouse  rewards  her.  See  these  Brothers  and 
Sisters,  what  progress  they  are  making  in  the  way  of  the 
commandments,  of  the  evangelical  counsels;  their  fervor, 
the  grace  vouchsafed  to  them  seems  to  increase  daily, 
their  advance  toward  perfection  is  manifest  to  all.  What 
cause  for  rejoicing  to  the  soul  who  is  inflamed  with  divine 


ON  CHARITY  OF  THE  HEART.  449 

charity.  She  soars  aloft  on  the  pinions  of  love  toward 
the  Heart  of  her  Lord,  to  give  Him  thanks  for  enabling 
them  to  serve  Him  so  well;  she  implores  Him  to  add 
grace  to  grace,  in  order  that  His  spouses  may  be  more  and 
more  worthy  of  Him. 

Let  us  beware  of  asserting  that  this  is  a  matter  merely 
of  character  or  temperament.  Certainly  character  and 
temperament  may  have  a  good  deal  to  do  with  the  emotion 
outwardly  displayed  in  some  touching,  thrilling  juncture; 
but  St.  Paul  distinctly  attributes  these  dispositions  to 
the  operation  of  the  power  of  grace.  Listen  to  his  descrip- 
tion of  the  charity  which  is  the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
'* Charity  is  kind;  it  rejoiceth  not  in  iniquity  but  rejoiceth 
in  the  truth;"  that  is,  it  finds  its  greatest  consolation  in 
seeing  others  make  progress  in  the  way  of  justice.  ''Char- 
ity,'* he  continues,  ''believeth  all  things,  hopethall  things; " 
forms  the  best  hopes,  that  is,  for  the  future  of  its  neighbor, 
and  never  despairs  of  his  salvation,  but  believes  gladly 
all  the  good  that  is  said  of  him.  "Charity  seeketh  not 
her  own,"  is  devoid  of  all  jealousy,  and  has  none  but  the 
kindest  feelings  for  every  one  (I.  Cor.  xiii.  5). 

So  speaks  the  great  Apostle ;  but  we  must  not  pass  over 
without  mention  the  first  quality  he  ascribes  to  charity: 
''Charity  is  patient,"  coritas  patiens  est.  Why  should  it 
be  patient,  and  why  should  he  dwell  particularly  on  this 
characteristic  in  connection  with  Community  life?  Can 
it  be  that,  amongst  souls  who  are  consecrated  to  God, 
charity  requires  the  support  and  assistance  of  patience? 
Yes,  so  it  is;  and  patience,  that  beauteous  and  noble 
virtue,  united  to  charity,  has,  as  St.  James  says,  "a  per- 
fect work."  Patience  is  necessary  everywhere,  even 
among  saints.  But  the  patience  of  the  saints,  being 
that  which  charity  inspires,  is  always  gentle,  simple, 
modest,  and  humble.  It  is  the  victim  that  is  led  to  the 
slaughter    without    opening    his    mouth,  conscious    that 


450  ON  CHARITY  OF  THE  HEAItT, 

self-immolation  is  the  condition  which  best  befits 
him. 

Such  is  interior  charity.  If  as  yet  we  are  devoid  of  it, 
let  us  not  excuse  ourselves  on  the  plea  of  character  and 
temperament;  rather  let  us  humble  ourselves,  and  with 
fervent  petitions  implore  grace  to  acquire  the  possession 
of  so  grand,  so  precious,  so  necessary  a  virtue. 

3.  The  good  work  which  testifies  to  and  proves  the 
sincerity  of  our  charity  is  prayer  for  our  brethren.  Do  we 
pray  for  all  the  members  of  our  Community?  Do  we 
pray  for  them  frequently,  fervently?  There  are  prayers 
recited  in  Community  for  the  novices,  the  sick,  the  Supe- 
riors; these  ought  to  be  joined  in  with  great  attention 
and  devotion,  not  as  a  matter  of  habit  and  routine;  but 
it  is  not  of  them  that  we  speak:  it  is  of  the  loving,  fond 
remembrance  in  your  own  prayers  of  the  Community  in 
general  and  the  individual  members  in  particular.  You 
will  pray  for  them  when  you  visit  the  Blessed  Sacrament, 
or  the  Blessed  Virgin,  or  while  making  your  thanksgiving 
after  communion;  and  this  remembrance  of  them,  this 
intercession  for  them  will  be  one  of  holy  fervor  and  trust- 
ful confidence;  one  which  will  be  known  to  no  one  except 
to  your  Father  who  seeth  in  secret,  by  whom  alone  you 
will  be  rewarded.  How  pleasing  to  the  Heart  of  our  divine 
Lord  are  these  petitions,  borne  aloft  on  the  wings  of  humility 
and  charity !  They  will,  moreover,  be  free  from  all  tempta- 
tion to  vainglory.  An  external  act,  a  kind  speech,  a 
service  offered  and  rendered,  might  be  exposed  to  that 
e\'il  (not  that  we  should  omit  it  on  that  account,  God  for- 
bid!); but  with  prayer  it  is  different.  It  is  disinterested, 
it  is  hidden;  into  this  act  of  charity  no  human  element 
can  enter.  Let  us  therefore  pray  earnestly  for  those  who 
are  the  companions  of  our  exile  here  below,  and  with 
whom  we  are  destined  to  form  a  crown  of  rejoicing  for 
Jesus  and  Mary  in  heaven. 


CHAPTER  XVn. 

ON  CHARITY  IN  SPEECH  AND  IN  BEHAVIOR.      WHAT  OUGHT 
TO   BE   AVOIDED. 

On  this  subject  we  have  to  point  out,  first  what  ought 
to  be  avoided;  secondly,  what  ought  to  be  done.  What 
ought  to  be  avoided  in  word  is  detraction  (calumny  still 
more,  but  surely  this  is  unknown  among  the  privileged 
children  of  God,  the  spouses  of  Jesus  Christ),  bitterness, 
hai'shness,  ill-temper,  abruptness;  and  in  demeanor  the  air, 
the  bearing,  the  gestures,  the  distant  behavior  which 
sometimes  raise  insurmountable  barriers  between  souls. 
The  conduct  that  ought  to  be  observed  is  that  which  St. 
Paul  enjoins  in  his  epistle  to  the  Romans  (Rom.  xv.  2) : 
''Let  every  one  of  you  please  his  neighbor  unto  good  to 
edification.'*  This  text  ought  to  be  the  heading  of  every 
treatise  on  Christian  courtesy. 

1.  What  ought  to  be  avoided. 

First  and  foremost,  slander  must  be  avoided.  What 
a  terrible  curse  this  is  for  a  Community !  Evil  speaking 
is  of  two  kinds :  there  is  that  which  proceeds  from  malice, 
which  is  prompted  by  jealousy  or  rancor  (but  surely  it 
is  unnecessary  to  speak  of  this,  it  can  not  exist  in  a  religious 
House),  and  there  is  evil  speaking  which  is  the  result  of  a 
foolish  habit,  a  fault  of  character,  or,  once  in  a  way,  is  the 
expression  of  wounded  feelings. 

It  is  easy  to  perceive  that  these  two  classes  of  evil 
speaking  are  not  of  equal  gravity.  We  will  discuss  each 
separately. 

451 


452      CHARITY  IN  SPEECH  AND  IN  BEHAVIOR. 

As  to  the  first,  it  would  be  impossible  to  quote  all  the 
maledictions,  the  anathemas  hurled  against  the  odious 
sin  of  slander  by  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  pages  of  Holy 
Scripture,  and  by  the  saints  of  all  ages,  notably  those 
who  have  lived  in  Community. 

Let  us  listen  to  the  words  of  Holy  Writ: 

''The  whisperer  and  the  double-tongued  is  accursed; 
for  he  hath  troubled  many  that  were  at  peace. 

''The  tongue  of  a  third  person  hath  disquieted  many, 
and  scattered  them  from  nation  to  nation. 

"It  hath  destroyed  the  strong  cities  of  the  rich,  and 
hath  overthrown  the  houses  of  great  men. 

"It  hath  cut  in  pieces  the  forces  of  peoples,  and  undone 
strong  nations. 

"The  tongue  of  a  third  person  hath  cast  out  valiant 
women,  and  deprived  them  of  their  labors. 

"He  that  hearkeneth  to  it  shall  never  have  rest, 
neither  shall  he  have  a  friend  in  whom  he  may  repose. 

"The  stroke  of  a  whip  maketh  a  blue  mark;  but  the 
stroke  of  the  tongue  will  break  the  bones. 

"Many  have  fallen  by  the  edge  of  the  sword;  but  not 
so  many  as  have  perished  by  their  own  tongue. 

"Blessed  is  he  that  is  defended  from  a  wicked  tongue, 
that  hath  not  passed  into  the  wrath  thereof,  and  that 
hath  not  drawn  the  yoke  thereof,  and  hath  not  been  bound 
in  its  bonds. 

"For  its  yoke  is  a  yoke  of  iron;  and  its  bonds  are  bonds 
of  brass. 

"The  death  thereof  is  a  most  evil  death  and  hell  is 
preferable  to  it. 

"Its  continuance  shall  not  be  for  a  long  time,  but  it 
shall  possess  the  ways  of  the  unjust;  and  the  just  shall 
not  be  burnt  with  its  flame. 

"They  that  forsake  God  shall  fall  into  it,  and  it  shall 
burn  in  them  and  shall  not  be  quenched,  and  it  shall  be 


CHARITY  IN  SPEECH  AND  IN  BEHAVIOR.      453 

sent  upon  them  as  a  lion,  and  as  a  leopard  it  shall  tear 
them. 

"Hedge  in  thy  ears  with  thorns,  hear  not  a  wicked 
tongue,  and  make  doors  and  bars  to  thy  mouth. 

''Melt  down  thy  gold  and  silver,  and  make  a  balance  for 
thy  words,  and  a  just  bridle  for  thy  mouth"  (Ecclus. 
xxviii.  15-29). 

We  will  now  Hsten  to  St.  Bernard's  exposition  of  these 
words  of  the  Psalmist:  "The  sons  of  men,  whose  teeth 
are  weapons  and  arrows  and  their  tongue  a  sharp  sword" 
(Ps.  Ivi.  5).  This,  he  says,  is  perfectly  true,  for  the  tongue 
of  the  backbiter  is  a  double-edged,  nay,  a  triple-edged 
sword.  Is  not  his  tongue  a  spear?  Yes,  verily,  and  a 
sharp  one,  too;  with  a  single  thrust  it  will  transfix  three 
persons.  Is  it  not  a  viper?  Yes,  a  viper  of  the  most 
venomous  description;  with  her  poisoned  fang  she  strikes 
death  into  three  souls  at  once.  The  prophet  says  again: 
"They  have  sharpened  their  tongues  like  a  serpent:  the 
venom  of  asps  is  under  their  lips"  (Ps.  cxxxix.  4).  He 
compares  the  tongue  of  the  slanderer  to  that  of  the  serpent. 
The  tongue  of  the  serpent  gives  a  fatal  wound:  a  better 
comparison  could  not  be  chosen  to  make  known  the  terrible 
evil  wrought  by  the  tongue  of  the  slanderer. 

We  need  say  no  more.  Undoubtedly  this  evil  is  very 
rare  in  religious  Communities.  Moreover,  we  belie Ve  and 
hope  that,  for  the  well  being  and  peace  of  the  simple,  straight- 
forward souls  who  inhabit  these  Houses,  Our  Lord  will 
not  permit  the  corrupt  members  (as  He  Himself  calls 
them  in  speaking  to  B.  Margaret  Mary)  who  are  tainted 
with  this  moral  leprosy  to  wear  the  religious  habit  until 
death  removes  them,  but  will  have  them  cast  out,  as  their 
just  punishment,  as  belonging  to  those  of  whom  St.  Ber- 
nard says  that  the  devil  makes  use  of  their  tongue  to  scatter 
deadly  poison  at  his  will. 

The  second  kind  of  evil  speaking,  of  a  less  serious  nature 


454      CHARITY  IN  SPEECH  AND  IN  BEHAVIOR. 

than  that  which  we  have  been  considering,  is  unhappily  by 
no  means  unknown,  even  in  well-regulated  Communities. 
There  is  always  one  member  who  does  not  keep  pace  with 
the  rest,  who  offends  first  against  one  virtue,  then  against 
another,  and  the  rules  of  charity  are  perhaps  those  which 
he  least  respects.  There  is,  we  will  suppose,  a  brother, 
a  sister,  whom  we  dislike.  What  is  the  reason  of  this? 
It  is  not  always  easy  to  say,  still  less  to  avow.  We  tell 
ourselves,  with  more  or  less  self-deception,  that  his  man- 
ners, his  way  of  talking  are  what  we  dislike.  But,  in 
reaUty,  the  reason  why  we  do  not  like  him  is  because  we 
ourselves  are  wanting  in  humihty,  in  patience.  Who 
can  say  whether  our  feehngs  toward  him  are  not  prompted 
by  a  secret  jealousy  which  pride  will  not  allow  us  to  con- 
fess? However  that  may  be,  if  any  one  about  us  makes 
some  depreciating  remark  concerning  that  individual, 
we  can  not  help  feeling  a  spontaneous,  involuntary  sense 
of  pleasure;  and  if  the  unbecoming,  ill-advised  observa- 
tion does  not  come  from  any  other  lips,  we  ourselves, 
without  thinking,  throw  the  blame,  more  or  less  justly. 
on  the  object  of  our  aversion. 

We  must  never  justify  this  fault  to  ourselves;  it  must 
be  rim  to  earth,  conquered  completely,  and  at  any  cost. 
If  it  has  become  a  habit,  all  the  Community,  we  venture 
to  say,  must  give  a  helping  hand  to  eradicate  it;  the 
Superiors  by  their  advice,  reproofs,  incessant  penances;  the 
others  by  pitilessly  exposing  it  in  the  chapter  of  faults, 
and  by  all  other  means  which  charity  may  suggest. 

Evil  speaking  is  confessedly  a  great  and  deplorable  evil; 
but  to  our  mind  there  is  something  yet  worse.  It  is  what 
is  done  by  the  indiscreet  Religious  who  repeats  the  slander. 
To  say:  ''Such  a  one  said  this  or  that  of  you,"  is  worse 
than  dealing  a  blow  with  a  poisoned  weapon;  and  if  the 
repeater  goes  on  to  say:  "For  goodness'  sake,  do  not  say 
that  you  have  heard  it  or  who  told  you,"  he  turns  the 


CHARITY  IN  SPEECH  AND  IN  BEHAVIOR.      455 

blade  in  the  wound  he  has  made,  and  no  one  can  tell  how 
long  that  wound  may  bleed;  it  may  not  heal  for  a  whole 
lifetime.  The  evil  thus  done  is  incalculable;  it  may  upset 
a  whole  Community.  Holy  Scripture  tells  us  that  the  soul 
of  the  Lord  detesteth  him  that  soweth  discord  among 
brethren;  and  St.  Gregory  (Pope),  speaking  of  the  blessed- 
ness of  peace-makers,  who  shall  be  called  the  children  of 
God,  concludes  from  this  that  those  who  sow  dissension  in 
the  hearts  of  their  brethren  are  to  be  called  the  children  of 
Satan. 

Let  us,  in  order  to  remove  the  unpleasant  impression  our 
consideration  of  this  subject  has  produced,  recall  the 
eulogium  St.  Augustine  pronounces  on  his  mother,  St. 
Monica. 

"My  mother,"  he  says,  "was  of  so  mild  and  pacific  a 
nature,  that  whatever  persons  who  had  quarrelled  said 
against  each  other  to  her  (as  often  happens  when,  in  the 
heat  of  anger,  the  offended  party  speaks  to  a  friend  of  his 
absent  enemy),  she  only  repeated  to  one  or  other  of  the 
persons  who  were  at  variance  what  was  calculated  to 
bring  about  a  reconciliation  as  speedily  as  possible." 

Slanderous  words  are  not  the  only  ones  to  be  avoided. 
We  must  be  on  our  guard  against  everything  that  might 
wound  that  delicate  virtue  which  is  the  most  pleasing  ex- 
pression of  mutual  charity :  cordiahty  of  word  and  manner. 
St.  Francis  of  Sales  calls  this  the  essence  of  true  friendship, 
particularly  becoming  to  Religious,  because  their  affection 
for  one  another  is  not  an  ordinary  friendship,  but  a  cordial 
one,  that  is  to  say,  it  comes  from  the  heart. 

We  would  therefore  say  to  the  Religious  who  is  desirous 
not  to  be  wanting  in  cordiality:  When  you  are  going  to 
recreation,  ask  yourself  what  are  your  mental  and  physical 
conditions.  Your  conversation  will  take  its  color  from 
them.  If  you  feel  tired,  or  are  in  pain,  or  are  worried  by 
some  secret  trouble;  or  if  in  the  course  of  the  morning  you 


456      CHARITY  IN  SPEECH  AND  IN  BEHAVIOR. 

have  been  ruffled  or  hurt  by  some  act  which  you  thought 
inconsiderate  or  rude;  if  you  have  been  scandaHzed  by  the 
behavior  of  your  neighbor,  take  care,  it  is  much  to  be 
feared  that  you  will  not  make  yourself  pleasant.  Very 
likely  you  will  talk  in  a  curt,  abrupt,  cold  way,  your  man- 
ner will  be  less  agreeable  than  usual,  there  will  be  some- 
thing forced,  harsh  about  it.  This  must  not  be  amongst 
brethren. 

If  you  address  the  brother  whose  behavior  has  taxed 
your  humility  too  severely,  do  not  speak  to  him  without 
having  inwardly  invoked  in  your  aid  the  gentleness  and 
meekness  of  the  Heart  of  Jesus  and  of  His  holy  Mother. 
Otherwise  what  you  say  will  be  said  with  a  bad  grace,  and 
unless  your  fellow-Religious  is  more  amiable  than  you  are, 
the  conversation  will  either  take  an  unpleasant  turn  or 
be  remarkably  tame. 

If  you  are  in  a  good  humor,  be  on  your  guard  all  the 
same,  whatever  the  cause  of  your  good  humor  may  be; 
you  have  been  successful  in  something,  some  one  has 
spoken  kindly  to  you,  or  you  may  have  received  some 
sensible  favor  from  heaven.  A  little  self-restraint  is 
needed  under  these  circumstances,  otherwise  you  may  be 
led  to  talk  in  a  thoughtless,  inconsiderate,  exaggerated 
manner. 

If  you  are  longing  to  say  a  sharp  or  amusing  thing, 
which  is  perhaps  more  witty  than  amiable,  keep  it  to 
yourself.  The  reputation  of  being  a  clever  fellow  is  not  a 
distinction  to  be  coveted  in  a  Community  of  men,  while 
the  reputation  for  sharp  sayings  is,  among  a  Congregation 
of  women,  tantamount  to  a  charge  of  worldliness. 

Never  argue  or  dispute  with  any  one.  ''Contend  not 
in  words,"  St.  Paul  says  to  Timothy,  ''for  it  is  to  no  profit 
but  to  the  subverting  of  the  hearers"  (II.  Tim.  ii.  14). 
St.  John  Climacus  asserts  that  obstinacy,  even  in  the 
defence  of  the  truth,  is  of  the  devil.     Undoubtedly  there 


CHARITY  IN  SPEECH  AND  IN  BEHAVIOR.      457 

are  many  subjects  which  may  be  discussed,  and  on  which  it 
is  quite  allowable  to  have  one's  own  opinion,  to  follow  one's 
own  tastes  and  inclinations;  but  how  should  we  be  the 
better  or  our  brethren  the  gainers  if  they  thought  and 
judged  as  we  did?  We  should  profit  much  more  by  giving 
up  our  own  judgment.  Let  us  not  forget  that  very 
rarely  is  God's  glory  promoted  by  our  own  private  opinion 
being  proved  right. 

We  have  now  seen  what  must  in  general  be  avoided  in 
order  not  to  offend  against  charity  in  our  speech.  We  do 
not  intend  to  enter  into  any  details  now  concerning  the 
behavior  which  ill  accords  with  charity;  what  we  have 
to  say  in  the  next  chapter  on  the  Rules  laid  down  by 
charity  in  this  respect,  will  teach  very  plainly  what  ought 
to  be  avoided,  by  showing  what  ought  to  be  observed. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

ON  CHARITY  IN  SPEECH  AND   IN  BEHAVIOR.      WHAT  OUGHT 
TO    BE    OBSERVED. 

Holy  Scripture  tells  that  "a  sweet  word  multiplieth 
friends"  (Ecclus.  vi.  5).  Christian  sweetness  has  an  inex- 
pressible charm;  we  say  Christian  sweetness,  because  it 
ought  to  be  supernatural,  a  reflection  of  the  Heart  of 
Jesus. 

It  is,  perhaps,  more  difficult  to  speak  kindly  than  to  act 
kindly,  since  more  tact  is  required  to  say  the  right  thing 
at  the  right  time  than  to  do  what  is  opportune.  As  a  rule, 
it  seems  as  if  kindly  and  charitable  words  ought  to  come 
from  a  Superior  rather  than  from  equals  and  inferiors. 
What  matter!  Let  us  always  keep  strict  guard  over 
our  tongue,  let  us  always  be  affable  and  complaisant. 
There  is  a  way  of  replying  to  a  question,  of  assenting  to  a 
proposal,  of  granting  a  request,  of  merely  saying  yes  or 
no,  which  is  redolent  of  the  charity  and  sweetness  of  the 
Heart  of  Jesus.  The  cordial  affection,  says  St.  Francis 
of  Sales,  which  befits  Religious,  ought  to  be  attended  by 
two  virtues:  affability  and  agreeable  conversation.  The 
former  makes  us  compliant  and  obliging  in  all  dealings 
of  a  graver  nature,  in  more  serious  intercourse  with  others; 
the  latter  renders  us  courteous  and  pleasant  at  recreation 
and  in  all  casual  intercourse  with  our  neighbor.  All  vir- 
tues, he  goes  on  to  say,  have,  as  you  know,  two  faults 
which  are  exactly  opposed  to  them.     Thus   affability  i? 

458 


CHARITY  IN  SPEECH  AND  IN  BEHAVIOR.      459 

apt  to  run  either  to  the  extreme  of  gravity  and  seriousness 
on  the  one  hand,  or  on  the  other  to  weak  comphance  and 
speeches  of  an  almost  flattering  nature.  Agreeable  con- 
versation requires  one  to  contribute  one's  share  to  the 
sober  joy  and  pleasant  converse  which  are  a  relief,  a  wel- 
come relaxation  for  one's  neighbor. 

A  recreation  passed  well  and  pleasantly  is  a  real  benefit 
for  a  Community,  and  kindly  words  are  a  wonderful 
help  to  bring  about  this  result.  Wherefore  let  us  hold  in 
abhorrence  every  word  that  is  contrary  to  this  divine 
virtue. 

If,  unfortunately,  something  should  happen  to  be  said  in 
depreciation  of  one  who  is  absent,  let  us  find  a  means  of 
repairing  the  wrong  by  excusing  him.  This  must  be  done 
gently  and  discreetly  if  it  is  to  be  effectual;  however,  we 
must  endeavor  to  act  so,  and  ask  wisdom  from  Our  Lord. 
The  means  others  employ  is  adroitly  to  turn  the  conversa- 
tion, if  it  is  prolonged  and  charity  suffers.  Both  of  these 
means  are  particularly  pleasing  to  the  Heart  of  our  divine 
Master.  They  are  also  grateful  to  the  Community  which 
does  not  fail  to  detect  true  charity  by  its  perfume.  A 
Religious  who  is  known  as  not  tolerating  an  unkind  word 
to  be  said  in  his  presence,  gives  more  edification  than  the 
most  mortified  of  his  brethren  and  the  most  punctual  in 
keeping  the  Rule.  And,  as  the  Holy  Spirit  tells  us:  "He 
is  beloved  of  God  and  men"  (Ecclus.  xlv.  1). 

But  there  are  peculiar  circumstances  to  be  thought  of. 
Suppose  one  who  has  been  hurt,  aggrieved,  and  who 
suffers  in  consequence,  comes  to  pour  out  his  grievances 
in  your  sympathizing  ear.  As  a  rule,  it  is  not  advisable 
for  Religious  to  tell  their  troubles  to  one  another,  in  fact 
we  think  it  is  wiser  to  forbid  this ;  the  results  are  far  more 
often  prejudicial  than  beneficial.  Yet  the  office  one  holds 
or  a  special  permission  may  make  it  incumbent  upon  us  to 
listen  to  these  imwelcome  confidences. 


460     CHARITY  IN  SPEECH  AND  IN   BEHAVIOR. 

But,  it  may  be  said,  surely  this  individual  who  is 
troubled  and  cast  down  will  wound  the  charity  we  love 
so  well,  he  will  complain,  and  not  always  justly. 

One  ought,  it  seems,  to  listen  first  of  all  with  patience 
and  sympathy  to  the  recital  of  his  wrongs;  whether  real 
or  imaginary,  they  cause  him  suffering  all  the  same.  We 
must  not  forget  that  what  we  have  to  do  is  to  do  him 
good.  Let  him  therefore  lay  bare  his  wounds.  They 
will  be  half  healed  already,  if  this  imperfect  brother  is 
once  fully  convinced  that  your  dominant  feeling  for  him 
is  one  of  kind  compassion.  You  will  then  complete  the 
cure,  if,  like  the  Samaritan  in  the  Gospel,  you  pour  on  oil 
and  wine;  the  oil  of  gentle,  soothing,  mollifying  words, 
the  wine  of  invigorating,  encouraging  ad^dce ;  and,  if  neces- 
sary, by  placing  the  matter  in  its  true  light,  showing  that 
the  offence  has  been  exaggerated  through  imputing  bad 
motives,  and  that  an  unbiased  judgment  would  pro- 
nounce the  complainant  to  be  himself  the  delinquent. 

To  bring  about  this  result  certainly  would  take  time, 
but  it  is  quite  feasible.  However,  one  would  defeat  one's 
own  ends  were  one  not  to  begin  by  showing  the  discouraged 
individual  every  proof  of  deep  and  sincere  sympathy. 

While  on  the  subject  of  good  words,  there  is  one  point 
which  it  seems  we  ought  not  to  omit.  ''Out  of  the  abun- 
dance of  the  heart  the  mouth  speaketh"  (Matt.  xii.  34). 
If  our  love  for  our  brethren  is  not  confined  to  those  with 
whom  we  live,  but  includes  those  who  are  departed,  who 
formerly  were  united  with  us  in  our  prayers,  our  work, 
our  sufferings,  to  whom  we  were  united  by  the  ties  of  a 
mutual  close  and  tender  affection,  we  should  delight  in 
recalling  them  to  mind  during  our  recreations,  and  their 
memory  would  serve  to  hallow  that  sociable  hour.  We 
should  speak  of  their  virtues,  quote  some  of  their  sayings, 
their  maxims,  recall  some  incident  of  their  life.  St.  Francis 
of  Sales  complained  of  the  way  the  dead  were  forgotten. 


CHARITY  IN  SPEECH  AND  IN  BEHAVIOR.      461 

He  said:  "The  proof  of  this  is  that  we  talk  of  them  so 
seldom."  A  Community  ought  not  to  deserve  this  re- 
proach. We  should  be  inclined  to  regard  as  a  mark  of 
fervor,  certainly  as  testifying  to  the  prevalence  of  an 
admirable  spirit,  if  Religious  in  their  conversation  often 
spoke  of  the  departed.  This  charitable  conduct  can  not 
fail  to  be  profitable  to  the  living,  and  it  supposes  that 
prayers  are  frequently  sent  up  to  God  on  behalf  of  the 
suffering  souls. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  charity  in  behavior. 

The  Religious,  we  presume,  is  brought  into  contact  with 
the  aged  and  infirm,  with  those  who  are  employed  in  the 
same  work  as  themselves,  with  those  whose  character, 
temperament,  and  tastes  differ  widely  from  his  own. 
Under  these  circumstances  St.  Paul's  exhortation  must  be 
remembered:  "Let  every  one  of  you  please  his  neighbor 
unto  good  to  edification;"  and  the  Apostle  adds:  "For 
Christ  did  not  please  Himself"  (Rom.  xv.  2).  Here  our 
great  Exemplar  is  set  before  us.  The  practice  of  perfect 
charity  gives  occasion  for  continual  self-sacrifice.  But 
this  self-sacrifice  well  becomes  one  who,  by  his  profession, 
has  been  consecrated  as  a  victim,  and  it  is  delightful  to 
think  that  here,  as  everywhere,  Christ  is  our  pattern. 
Unusquisque  vestrum  proximo  suo  placeat  in  honum,  ad  edi- 
ficationem:   etenim  Christus  non  sihi  placuit. 

There  are  always  services  to  be  rendered  to  the  aged 
and  infirm,  to  the  sick  and  suffering,  and  there  is  much 
call  for  patience.  If  so,  let  us  do  what  is  required  with  so 
cheerful  a  countenance,  with  such  a  quiet,  kind,  unaffected 
manner,  that  the  old  and  the  sick  may  think  that  it  is 
a  pleasure  to  us  to  serve  them.  This  is  very  important. 
And  let  us  remember,  when  old  age  comes  upon  us,  or  if 
we  are  sick  or  infirm,  to  be  careful  to  be  extremely  gentle, 
patient,  and  grateful  toward  those  who  wait  on  us,  and 
think  more  of  the  trouble  they  take  on  our  behalf  than 


462      CHARITY  IN  SPEECH  AND  IN  BEHAVIOR. 

of  our  own  suffering  and  discomfort.  Thus  we  too,  in 
our  turn,  shall  practise  charity. 

It  is  a  pleasing  sight  to  see  two  persons,  one  of  whom  is 
the  served  and  the  other  the  server,  who  both  endeavor 
to  fulfil  the  Apostle's  injunction:  "Let  every  one  of  you 
please  his  neighbor." 

In  regard  to  those  of  our  brethren  with  whom  we  are  asso- 
ciated in  our  work,  charity  requires  that  we  should  do  our 
utmost  to  avoid  friction.  Perfect  agreement  is  necessary  if 
our  work  is  to  be  productive  of  good  to  the  Community,  and 
equally  necessary  for  the  peace  and  personal  profit  of  the 
workers  themselves.  They  will  do  well  to  take  as  their 
inviolable  rule  these  words  of  the  Apostle:  "That  you  be 
of  one  mind,  having  the  same  charity,  being  of  one  accord, 
agreeing  in  sentiment.  Let  nothing  be  done  through 
contention,  neither  by  vainglory;  but  in  humiHty  let  each 
esteem  others  better  than  themselves.  Each  one  not 
considering  the  things  that  are  his  own,  but  those  that  are 
other  men's"  (Phil.  ii.  2-4).  And  if  through  indolence 
of  character  or  inadvertence  your  brother  now  and  again 
leaves  some  portion  of  his  task  unfinished  or  badly  per- 
formed, so  that  the  greater  part  of  the  work  falls  to  your 
share,  do  not  show  that  you  have  remarked  this.  It  may 
be  that  for  the  sake  of  order  and  discipUne  this  state  of 
things  is  not  allowed  to  continue,  and  the  brother  receives 
the  reprimand  he  deserves;  but  until  the  Superior  inter- 
feres for  the  general  edification,  let  nothing  disturb  the 
peace  and  simplicity  of  your  mind.  Far  from  feeling 
annoyed,  you  should  rather  be  grateful  to  him  for  having 
afforded  you  so  excellent  an  occasion  for  self-sacrifice,  and 
consequently  of  merit.  St.  John  Chrysostom  has  two 
admirable  comparisons  pertinent  to  this  subject:  "Does 
the  huntsman,"  he  asks,  "if  he  sees  a  splendid  stag  in  his 
path,  complain  that  those  who  have  gone  that  waj  before 
him  neglected  to  kill  it?    Or  does  the  traveler  who  sees  a 


CHARITY  IN  SPEECH  AND  IN  BEHAVIOR.      463 

gold  coin  lying  by  the  roadside  refrain  from  stooping  to 
pick  it  up,  saying  to  himself:  Why  have  not  those  who 
have  covered  the  ground  before  me  taken  possession  of  it?  " 

The  piece  of  gold  represents  the  work  imperfectly 
performed  which  the  brother  who  is  animated  by  true 
charity  hastens  to  make  his  own;  and  observe  that  the 
traveler,  fearing  lest  his  treasure  should  be  taken  from 
him,  says  not  a  word  about  it  to  any  one. 

Charity  also  imparts  a  blessing,  an  unction,  a  celestial 
aid  to  all  we  do  when  we  have  dealings  of  business,  or 
have  to  work  in  seme  ministerial  capacity  with  members 
of  the  Community  whose  character,  whose  way  of  looking 
at  things,  whose  tastes  are  diametrically  opposed  to  our 
own. 

Mark  first  of  all  that  these  differences  ought  not  to  sur- 
prise us.  They  enter  into  the  designs  of  Providence  for 
many  reasons  that  might  be  mentioned,  and  for  this  particu- 
lar one,  to  afford  us  an  occasion  of  practising  virtues  which 
otherwise  we  should  only  know  by  name.  These  diver- 
sities exist  even  in  great  saints;  witness  St.  Augustine  and 
St.  Jerome.  The  important  point  is  that  on  both  sides  the 
greatest  gentleness  and  kindness  should  be  exercised,  for 
after  all,  in  spite  of  all  differences  of  character  and  ways 
of  looking  at  things,  it  is  essentially  necessary  to  be  of 
one  heart  and  one  mind:  Cor  unum  et  anima  una.  We 
must  love  one  another  as  Christ  loved  us. 

One  point  must  not  be  omitted,  as  it  is  of  no  slight  impor- 
tance. Let  us  beware  of  imagining  ourselves  to  be  the 
one  who  must  exercise  patience,  and  that  our  brother 
ought  only  to  thank  heaven  that  he  has  us  to  deal  with. 
Nothing  would  be  more  odd,  not  to  say  ridiculous,  than 
to  pose  as  a  martyr,  a  victim  offered  up  at  the  pleasure  of 
the  brother  whose  faults  are  so  many  sacrificial  swords 
whereby  we  are  immolated.  God  forbid  that  we  should 
indulge  such  pitiful  delusions!    The  true  victim  is  the 


464      CHARITY  IN  SPEECH  AND  IN  BEHAVIOR. 

one  who  humbly  and  modestly  lays  self  on  the  altar  to 
be  consumed  by  the  flame  of  sincere  charity. 

We  will  therefore  make  it  our  unwearying  endeavor  at 
all  times  and  on  all  occasions  to  cause  this  humble,  lowly, 
sincere  charity  to  be  apparent  in  our  speech,  our  behavior, 
the  tones  of  our  voice,  the  expression  of  our  countenance, 
in  short,  in  our  whole  outward  man.  To  attach  no  value 
to  these  tangible  signs  of  paternal  affection  would  show 
that  we  had  failed  to  understand  the  grace  of  Community 
life.  Christian  politeness  is  said  to  be  charity  in  its  per- 
fection. And  where  should  perfect  charity  be  met  with 
if  not  among  Religious?  Let  them  therefore  aim  at  ac- 
quiring it  for  the  sake  of  Our  Lord,  who  (it  sounds  familiar, 
but  we  say  it  with  all  respect)  was  the  most  perfect  gen- 
tleman that  ever  existed.  Is  it  not  said  of  Him  that  *'He 
hath  done  all  things  well?"  (Mark  vii.  37).  Are  we 
wrong  in  thinking  that  every  Religious  ought  under  all 
circumstances  to  give  the  impression  of  being  well  bred?  A 
good  education  can  be  nothing  but  a  benefit,  especially  in 
regard  to  sanctity.  Now  the  Religious  who  carefully  keeps 
the  rules  of  charity  is  holy  in  God's  sight,  and  it  may  be 
said  of  him  as  of  his  divine  Master:  Ben^  omnia  fecit.  He 
hath  done  all  things  well. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

ON  THE  FAMILY  SPIRIT  IN  RELIGIOUS  COMMUNITIES. 

The  family  spirit  is  a  charitable  attitude  of  mind,  which, 
if  shared  by  all  the  members  of  a  Community,  inspires  them 
with  a  cordial  love  for  their  common  life,  their  mutual  rela- 
tions, the  work  proper  to  the  Institute,  the  spirit,  the  ob- 
ject, the  spiritual  prosperity  of  the  Order.  It  is  a  spirit 
of  peace,  of  concord,  of  simplicity,  of  self-denial,  and  self- 
devotion. 

There  is  much  to  be  said  in  praise  of  this  spirit,  which, 
if  it  prevails  in  a  religious  House,  gives  one  some  idea  of 
the  union  existing  amongst  the  angels,  of  the  perfect  har- 
mony that  reigns  in  their  celestial  hierarchy. 

The  Religious  who  is  animated  by  it  looks  upon  his  Com- 
munity, his  monastery,  as  his  family  and  his  home;  the 
spot  where  of  all  others  he  prefers  to  live  and  die,  which  he 
would  only  exchange  for  his  heavenly  country.  He  no 
longer  belongs  to  any  one  race  or  nation,  his  Congregation 
is  to  him  the  nation,  the  country  of  his  choice. 

All  his  affections,  his  hopes,  his  energies  are  centered  on 
this  Congregation  wherein  he  finds  all  that  his  soul  can 
desire  to  assure  her  sanctification  here,  her  eternal  bliss 
hereafter.  Doubtless  he  feels  affection,  esteem,  reverence 
for  all  the  Orders  and  Congregations  instituted  in  the  Church 
of  God,  and  which  by  the  sanctity  of  their  life  and  the 
perfection  of  their  works  are  the  consolation,  the  joy,  the 
support  of  our  holy  Mother  Church ;  yet  the  best,  the  ten- 
derest  love  of  his  inmost  heart  is  given  to  his  own  beloved 

465 


466    ON  THE  FAMILY  SPIRIT  IN  COMMUNITIES. 

Order.  St.  Francis  of  Sales  says:  "The  Religious  will 
frankly  acknowledge  that  other  Congregations  are  more 
excellent  than  his  own,  but  no  other  is  so  good  and  suit- 
able for  him,  since  Our  Lord  has  ordained  that  it  should 
be  his  earthly  home,  the  bark  of  his  salvation." 

Thus  the  delight  of  the  Religious  who  is  possessed  by 
the  spirit  whereof  we  speak  is  to  remain  always  united  to 
the  rest  of  his  Community  by  the  exact,  punctual  observ- 
ance of  the  holy  Rule,  of  the  minutest  injunctions,  the 
most  trifling  customs.  He  seeks  to  acquaint  himself  with 
the  letter,  the  wording  of  the  laws  by  which  his  Order  is 
governed,  to  imbibe  their  spirit,  to  live  by  their  life.  How 
much  he  likes  the  work  proper  to  his  Order,  how  he  takes 
to  everything  which  is  the  special  vocation  of  its  members ! 
He  seems  to  have  no  joys  or  sorrows  apart  from  those  of 
this,  his  spiritual  Mother.  He  is  glad,  not  from  pride  or 
from  self-love  as  being  a  member  of  the  body  corporate 
(for  this  would  be  an  inversion  of  the  supernatural  spirit 
and  displeasing  to  the  Heart  of  Jesus),  but  from  a  filial, 
heartfelt,  grateful  affection,  he  is  glad,  I  say,  to  see  his 
Order  held  in  esteem  by  the  ecclesiastical  authorities,  com- 
mended by  the  Holy  See,  respected  by  men  of  worth;  he 
is  pleased  to  hear  that  promising  postulants  have  applied 
for  admission,  hoping  as  he  does  that  by  their  excellence 
as  Religious  (not  by  their  talents  or  their  wealth,  of  that 
he  takes  small  account)  they  will  help  to  keep  up  the  dis- 
cipline, the  spirit  of  regularity,  and  thus  increase  the  merits 
of  the  Community. 

The  Religious  is,  moreover,  ready  to  make  any  sacrifices 
for  the  good  of  his  spiritual  family.  Is  he  required  to 
change  houses,  to  give  up  his  work,  to  accept  a  respon- 
sible post?  He  consents  to  everything  humbly,  unosten- 
tatiously, but  courageously  and  generously.  The  welfare 
of  the  Congregation  demands  it;  the  Congregation  is  or- 
dained of  God,  it  accomplishes  His  holy  will;  its  prosper- 


ON  THE  FAMILY  SPIRIT  IN  COMMUNITIES.  467 

ity  promotes  the  honor  and  glory  of  God;  that  is  enough 
for  this  magnanimous  soul.  Is  he  not  called  to  be  a  vic- 
tim in  the  sight  of  the  God  of  love  and  of  his  brethren? 

The  spirit  of  the  family  is  also  a  spirit  of  order.  The 
Religious  who  is  animated  by  it  is  anxious  that  nothing 
should  disturb  the  perfect  order  which  ought  to  prevail 
in  a  house  consecrated  to  God.  He  takes  a  lively  interest 
in  everything,  he  does  his  utmost,  within  the  limits  of 
humility  and  obedience,  to  uphold  this  perfect  order  every- 
where. Is  it  necessary  to  be  more  explicit?  That  imple- 
ment is  not  in  its  place,  the  shutters  of  that  window  are 
not  bolted;  a  candlestick  has  been  left  where  it  ought 
not  to  be,  a  lamp  is  found  still  burning  in  the  morning, 
a  little  piece  of  wood  has  fallen  from  the  fagots  that 
were  carried  in.  .  .  .  Who  will  say  such  trifles  are  not 
worth  noticing?  Many  Religious  are  glad  to  have  these 
trifles  mentioned.  Those  who  have  the  true  spirit  of 
the  family,  who  love  order  and  tidiness,  like  to  put  every- 
thing back  into  its  place.  They  can  not  tolerate  careless- 
ness, not  from  irritability  of  any  kind,  or  from  restlessness 
and  ofiiciousness,  but  as  members  of  an  Order  to  the  welfare 
of  which  they  seek  to  contribute  in  as  far  as  they  can. 

Finally,  this  family  spirit  is  discreet.  When  we  speak 
of  discretion  we  mean  the  virtue  which  makes  us  reticent 
and  prudent  in  keeping  the  secrets  of  the  Community  and 
its  members.  St.  Jane  Chantal  used  to  impress  the  neces- 
sity of  this  virtue  most  emphatically  on  her  daughters. 

Every  Community  has,  it  is  true,  matters  which  con- 
cern itself  alone:  projects,  hopes,  fears,  difficulties,  trials 
both  external  and  internal.  Perhaps,  by  the  permission 
of  God,  in  His  inscrutable  designs,  the  Community  may 
be  passing  through  a  season  of  trial  and  affliction  for  which 
no  one  can  account;  it  is  perhaps  caused  by  the  ill-will 
or  imprudence  of  some  of  its  members,  or  the  incapacity 
or  tactlessness  of  some  one  in  authority;   all  this  is  not 


i68    ON  THE  FAMILY  SPIRIT  IN  COMMUNITIES. 

impossible.  The  most  successful  foundations  have  to 
pass  through  these  trials;  the  important  point  is  not  to 
let  them  get  noised  abroad.  In  all  communications  with 
outsiders,  whether  personal  or  epistolary  intercourse,  the 
most  inviolable  secrecy  must  be  observed.  To  our 
ecclesiastical  Superiors  alone,  who  stand  toward  us  in  the 
place  of  God,  who  are  appointed  by  the  Church  to  guide, 
encourage,  support  us,  to  them  alone  may  we  unburden 
our  hearts.  It  is  our  duty  to  consult  them,  their  right 
to  counsel  us.  It  is  also  their  duty  to  acquaint  them- 
selves with  everything  that  affects  the  wise  government 
of  a  Congregation.  But  with  the  exception  of  these,  our 
lawful  confidants  in  any  difficulties,  the  affairs  of  the 
Community  must  be  kept  a  profound  secret.  Any  indis- 
cretion in  this  respect  might  occasion  great  annoyances, 
not  to  say  grave  evils. 

This  same  discretion  ought  to  prevent  Religious  who 
hold  no  office  from  endeavoring  to  discover  what  course 
of  conduct  their  Superiors  and  their  counselors  are  pursu- 
ing or  intend  to  pursue  for  the  good  order  and  government 
of  the  Community.  This  is  a  very  important  point,  on 
which  the  founders  of  the  different  Orders  invariably 
insist.  The  family  spirit,  which  as  we  have  said  is  a 
spirit  of  peace,  of  simplicity,  of  concord,  is  very  influential 
in  this  respect. 

But  discretion  is  not  only  needful  in  regard  to  matters 
that  concern  the  Community.  Every  member  has  secrets 
concerning  himself,  sometimes  of  a  deUcate  nature.  One 
brother  is  troubled  by  scruples,  by  doubts  and  difficulties; 
another  has  some  painful  infirmity,  a  third  has  disreputable 
family  connections,  a  Sister  has  been  received  without  a 
dowry.  ...  All  these  and  similar  matters  must  remain 
the  secret  of  those  who  are  acquainted  with  them,  a  secret 
to  be  kept  most  jealously  from  the  knowledge  of  all  out- 
siders, even  intimate  friends.    They  are  family  affairs, 


ON  THE  FAMILY  SPIRIT  IN  COMMUNITIES.    469 

and  must  remain  the  exclusive  property  of  the  family, 
whose  brotherly  spirit  of  forbearance  and  kindness  ignores 
the  barrier  of  mine  and  thine,  and  merges  all  individual 
interests  in  the  union  of  charity. 

The  same  discreet  reticence,  the  same  charitable  reserve 
must  be  observed  if  one  of  the  Community  is  at  fault, 
if  he  is  in  disgrace  with  his  Superiors.  The  Superiors 
alone  have  to  deal  with  such  cases.  The  others  must 
hold  their  peace,  betake  themselves  to  prayer,  and  hope 
for  the  best. 

Would  that  this  loving  spirit  prevailed  in  all  religious 
Houses.  What  is  a  Community  without  this  bond  of 
tender  relationship,  imparting  divine,  celestial  consolation 
to  the  simple,  chaste,  humble  souls  in  whom  it  holds  sway? 

We  are  of  opinion  that  it  is  the  family  spirit  in  religious 
Houses  which  is  spoken  of  in  terms  of  such  high  eulogium 
in  a  homily  often  attributed  to  St.  Bernard,  but  more 
correctly  to  a  writer  of  his  day.  "How  glorious,  how 
delightful  it  is  to  see  men  following  the  same  manner 
of  life,  living  imder  the  same  roof!  One  bewails  his  sins 
with  tears;  another  chants  sacred  canticles;  one  teaches, 
another  serves;  one  is  engaged  in  prayer,  the  other  is 
occupied  with  reading.  One  will  forgive  an  offence, 
another  will  punish  it  with  severity.  Some  are  inflamed 
with  the  fire  of  charity;  the  humility  of  others  is  made 
apparent  most  strikingly  when  success  attends  their 
efforts;  in  others  it  shines  most  brightly  in  seasons  of 
trial.  You  will  see  some  devoted  to  an  active  life,  whereas 
others  enjoy  the  sweet  repose  of  contemplation.  But 
all  are  one,  and  you  who  witness  the  perfect  unity  that 
prevails  amongst  them  will  exclaim:  'This  is  no  other 
than  the  house  of  God  and  the  gate  of  heaven.'" 


CHAPTER  XX. 

ON  THE  PRINCIPAL   PIOUS  EXERCISES  IN  USE  IN  RELIGIO^T. 

This  chapter  will  be  devoted  to  the  principal  religious 
exercises  of  monastic  life.  It  seems,  indeed,  that  the  space 
of  a  single  chapter  would  be  insufficient  for  the  considera- 
tion of  such  a  subject.  Assuredly  of  all  the  observances 
prescribed  by  the  Rule,  these  are  the  most  worthy  of  our 
reverence,  the  most  worthy  of  the  attention  and  affection 
of  the  monk  or  nun,  either  because  their  object  is  to  pay 
to  God  the  homage  due  to  Him,  or  because  it  is  principally 
in  the  performance  of  these  pious  exercises  that  the  Re- 
ligious both  imbibe  and  at  the  same  time  puts  into  prac- 
tice the  victim's  spirit  of  self-surrender,  the  spirit  essen- 
tially their  own.  We  shall  not  say  much  on  this  subject, 
but  what  we  say  will  be  enough  for  the  fervent  and 
thoughtful  Religious. 

The  morning  offering,  although  not  precisely  enjoined 
by  the  Rule,  is  one  of  the  most  important  counsels  given 
in  the  Directorium.  And  rightly  so.  The  first-fruits 
are  the  Lord's,  and  according  to  the  well-known  sa3dng 
of  St.  John  Climacus,  the  whole  day  belongs  to  him  to 
whom  the  beginning  is  given,  God,  or  the  demon  of  self- 
indulgence,  of  lawlessness. 

Our  awakening  in  the  morning  is  like  entering  anew  upon 
life.  The  Religious  will  do  well  to  unite  himself  to  the 
intentions  of  the  divine  Victim,  who  on  coming  into  the 
world  said:    ^'Behold  I  come  to  do  Thy  will,  O  God'' 

470 


ON  THE  PRINCIPAL  PIOUS  EXERCISES.        471 

(Heb.  X.  9),  or  to  the  same  gracious  Lord  in  the  mystery 
of  His  Resurrection,  when  He  set  the  seal  of  immortality 
on  His  character  of  victim.  Let  the  devout  soul,  the 
spouse  of  Jesus,  then  renew  her  oblation  as  a  sacrificial 
victim,  and  apply  herself,  as  St.  Paul  says,  "to  walk  in 
newness  of  life"  (Rom.  vi.  4),  to  advance  in  the  way  of 
perfection. 

''Our  awakening,^'  says  St.  Bona  venture,  '*may  be  com- 
pared to  a  daily  resurrection;  the  faithful  ought  to  give 
thanks  to  God  for  it  every  morning,  by  offering  its  first- 
fruits  to  Him,  in  union  with  Jesus  Christ." 

This  attitude  of  self-sacrifice  in  union  with  Our  Lord 
was  familiar  to  the  worthy  hermits  of  the  desert  who  are 
in  everything  our  models.  The  Abbot  Theonas,  in  a 
conference  recorded  by  Cassian,  said  that  it  was  the  devil's 
great  aim  to  distract  our  minds  when  we  woke  in  the 
morning,  to  prevent  us  from  making  our  daily  oblation 
to  God;  adding  that  if  we  desire  to  offer  and  consecrate 
to  the  Lord  acceptable  first-fruits,  we  ought  to  make 
custody  of  the  senses  one  of  our  chief  cares  in  the  early 
hours,  regarding  them  as  pure  and  spotless  holocausts 
to  be  dedicated  to  the  divine  Majesty. 

Thus  at  our  uprising  let  the  spirit  of  self-surrender 
sanctify  every  act  and  thought.  And  if  this  demands 
some  sacrifice  on  our  part,  let  us  make  it  generously  and 
unhesitatingly.  St.  Vincent  of  Paul  said  that  many  lost 
their  vocation  through  neglecting  to  sanctify  their  upris- 
ing, adding  this  striking  sentence:  ''The  grace  of  the  voca- 
tion depends  on  prayer,  and  prayer  depends  on  the  grace 
given  when  we  rise  in  the  morning." 

The  morning  offering  of  the  day  naturally  disposes  the 
Religious  to  make  his  morning  meditation  well ;  this  is  a 
subject  which  can  not  be  treated  in  a  few  words.  The 
masters  of  the  spiritual  life  have  written  about  it  at  length, 
and  from  their  works  may  be  learned  how  to  enjoy  this 


472        ON  THE  PRINCIPAL  PIOUS  EXERCISES. 

blessed  solace  of  our  life  of  exile.  Mental  prayer  is  like 
a  mystic  table  spread  with  the  aliments  that  sustain  the 
spirit  of  sacrifice;  but  it  is  also  an  altar  whereon  the  soul 
inmiolates  herself,  offering  to  the  divine  Majesty  all  the 
acts  appertaining  to  the  most  complete  self-sacrifice: 
adoration,  thanksgiving,  oblation,  contrition,  the  desire 
of  expiation,  abandonment  to  the  guidance  of  Providence, 
confidence  in  His  love  and  in  His  justice.  And  in  rising 
from  her  meditation,  the  soul  resolves  never  to  leave  the 
altar  of  burnt-offering,  on  which  she  will  be  perpetually 
consimied  in  the  flame  of  perfect  charity. 

Mental  prayer  awakens  in  her  these  generous  disposi- 
tions; holy  Mass  consecrates  them.  How  can  we  ven- 
ture to  speak  of  holy  Mass,  that  sacred  and  solemn  moment 
for  one  who  is  the  spouse  of  Christ  and  the  victim  of  His 
Sacred  Heart!  This  is  indeed  the  supreme  act  of  worship, 
in  which  Our  Lord  offers  to  His  Father  the  most  perfect 
homage,  and  gives  to  man  the  most  wondrous  proof  of 
love.  He  offers  the  sacrifice  of  Himself  and  makes 
the  soul  who  is  His  spouse  one  with  Him  in  that 
sacrifice,  that  by  this  ineffable  union  they  may  form 
one  only  victim  in  the  sight  of  the  infinitely  adorable 
and  amiable  Majesty  of  God  the  Father.  Let  the  Relig- 
ious take  no  other  view  than  this  of  the  Holy  Sacrifice 
of  the  Mass.  The  methods  of  hearing  it  differ,  but  the 
dominant  idea  is  always  the  same;  to  join  by  the 
closest  union  possible  in  the  intentions  of  Christ  our 
Victim,  for  the  honor  and  glory  of  His  Father  and  the 
salvation  of  souls. 

For  this  alone,  for  the  attainment  of  this  end,  the  soul 
longs  for  holy  conmiimion.  To  communicate  is  to  receive, 
to  receive  as  one's  own  the  body  and  blood  of  Jesus  Christ 
in  His  state  of  a  victim;  it  is  to  receive  His  spirit  also, 
the  spirit  of  self-sacrifice.  In  this  the  union  is  consum- 
mated.    But  we  will  say  no  more,  only  leave  the  devout 


ON  THE  PRINCIPAL  PIOUS  EXERCISES.       473 

Religious  to  know  and  acknowledge,  with  holy  rapture, 
that  if  the  Holy  Eucharist  is  the  mystic  food  of  all  Chris- 
tians, the  members  of  Christ,  it  is  preeminently,  in  a 
special  and  sublime  manner,  the  sacrament  of  those  who 
are  His  spouses  and  fellow-victims. 

In  the  course  of  the  day  many  prayers  are  recited  in 
community,  before  and  after  the  exercises,  the  meals, 
readings,  etc.;  and  every  Religious  has  his  private  devo- 
tions also,  authorized  by  his  Superior.  Let  us  always  pray 
by  Christ,  with  Christ,  in  Christ,  who  is  at  once  our  High- 
Priest  and  our  Victim.  Our  union  with  Him  ought  to  be 
of  so  intimate  a  nature,  our  dependence  on  His  Spirit 
so  complete.  His  dominion  over  our  souls  so  absolute,  as 
to  enable  us  to  say :  It  is  no  longer  I  that  pray,  but  Christ 
who  prays  within  me,  His  Spirit  animates  me,  His  grace 
vivifies  my  every  act  of  worship. 

The  divine  office  is  the  ReHgious'  principal  form  of 
prayer.  We  have  already  spoken  on  this  pleasing  sub- 
ject, which  St.  Augustine  called  his  delight.  In  the  re- 
cital of  the  divine  office  the  Rehgious  does,  in  fact,  find 
his  chief  solace.  How  often  troubles,  sadness,  tempta- 
tions vanish  whilst  he  is  engaged  in  this  celestial  occupa- 
tion; the  soul  rejoices  to  feel  herself  in  union  with  the 
whole  Church  below,  with  the  whole  Church  above!  This 
is  the  sacrifice  of  praise  which  is  so  pleasing  unto  God, 
which  ascends  to  His  throne  on  High  and  renders  those 
who  take  part  in  it  with  pure  hearts  sharers  in  the  bliss 
of  the  redeemed. 

In  the  sixth  chapter  of  the  first  part  we  showed  how 
the  Rehgious  is  a  victim  whilst  occupied  in  this  sacred 
work,  the  work  justly  called  by  the  saints  the  work  of 
God,  opus  Dei.  We  shall  now  see  in  what  way  he  may 
be  said  to  be  a  victim  for  the  whole  world.  In  the  chapter 
just  mentioned  we  took  Cardinal  de  B^rulle  for  our  teacher; 
we  shall  now  do  the  same. 


474        ON  THE  PRINCIPAL  PIOUS  EXERCISES. 

Writing  to  the  Carmelites  on  their  first  introduction 
into  France,  he  says:  "You  fulfil  this  office  not  for  your- 
selves alone,  but  for  every  creature  who  is  unworthy  or 
unable  to  praise  his  God.  Some  are  dumb,  destitute  alike 
of  voice  and  of  soul,  and  they  borrow  your  intelligence, 
your  tongue  to  offer  to  their  Creator  an  ascription  of 
praise;  others  are  as  it  were  in  their  childhood,  under  age, 
and  they  avail  themselves  of  your  primogeniture  and 
seniority  in  the  order  of  grace  for  the  purpose  by  your  instru- 
mentality of  fulfilling  their  bounden  duty  and  paying  to 
their  sovereign  Lord  the  homage  they  owe  to  Him;  others 
by  their  own  fault  have  deprived  themselves  of  the  graces 
that  might  have  been  theirs,  and  being  accursed  of  God 
are  unworthy  to  sing  His  praises.  Thus  a  twofold  bless- 
ing rests  on  you;  you  are  doubly  privileged,  inasmuch  as 
you  praise  God  on  behalf  of  others  and  on  your  own. 
With  this  intention  and  this  idea  betake  yourself  to  the 
choir,  as  if  empowered  by  all  created  beings  to  laud  and 
magnify  their  common  Lord,  as  if  commissioned  to  per- 
form their  duty  and  do  their  part  for  them. 

"You  praise  God  in  the  name  of  heaven  and  of  earth, 
of  creatures  animate  and  inanimate,  of  Christians  and 
unbelievers,  of  Catholics  and  heretics,  of  the  elect  and  the 
reprobate,  of  hell  itself,  though  it  would  fain  silence 
yom*  voice.  You  stand  between  heaven  and  hell;  hell  is 
beneath  your  feet,  and  would  to  God  that  you  took  as 
much  pains  to  praise  God  as  the  devils  do  to  curse  Him! 
Would  to  God  that  you  had  as  vivid  a  conviction  of  His 
mercy  as  hell  has  of  His  justice !  Heaven  is  opened  above 
you;  would  to  God  that  you  were  informed  by  a  faith  as 
lively  and  steadfast  as  the  vision  of  His  grandeur  enjoyed 
by  its  denizens  is  clear  and  blissful!  Would  to  God  that 
your  elevation  of  soul,  your  pious  transports  equalled  in 
degree  the  repose,  the  glory,  the  happiness  of  the  redeemed 
in  the  possession  of  their  Lord! 


ON  THE  PRINCIPAL  PIOUS  EXERCISES.        475 

"But  there  is  another  incentive  to  admiration  and 
gratitude  in  the  office  you  fill. 

"  The  eternal  Father  willed  that  His  Son  should  become 
incarnate,  and  the  Son  willed  to  assume  our  nature  in  order 
to  be  able  to  praise  and  serve  His  heavenly  Father  in  a 
more  exalted,  more  divine  manner  than  was  possible  for 
men  or  angels,  in  the  order  of  grace  or  of  glory;  for  previous 
to  the  mystery  of  the  Incarnation  there  were  both  men 
and  angels  who  praised  God,  but  now  there  is  a  Man-God 
who  fulfils  that  ministry.  There  is  a  God  who  adores  and 
is  adored,  and  you  only  praise  God  by  virtue  of  the  Man- 
God,  by  the  communication  of  His  spirit,  by  the  grace 
and  power  conferred  on  you  by  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  in 
Him  and  by  Him  that  you  perform  this  office,  in  concert 
with  Him;  for  His  attitude  is  one  of  unceasing  love  and 
praise  toward  God  the  Father,  and  He  is  present  con- 
tinually with  you  on  the  altar  in  the  capacity  of  a  sac- 
rificial victim  before  God,  a  victim  offered  for  your  salva- 
tion. Inasmuch  as  He  is  the  God  made  man,  He  is  and 
ever  will  be  the  Holocaust,  the  sacrificial  Lamb,  the  Victim 
offered  to  God. 

"Wherefore  in  the  strength  of  His  Spirit,  in  the  power 
of  His  grace  in  union  with  the  tribute  of  praise  He  rendered 
to  God  the  Father  upon  earth,  and  that  which  He  ceases 
not  to  offer  before  the  throne  of  God  in  heaven,  celebrate 
the  divine  praises  and  deem  yourselves  happy  to  be  in  the 
presence  of  Jesus,  to  be  dependent  on  and  animated  by 
His  spirit,  under  the  guidance  of  His  grace,  participators 
in  His  ministry  and  in  the  exercise  of  His  function  of  Priest 
and  Victim,  which  consists  in  praising  God  and  consecrating 
your  souls  to  His  praise  and  glory.'' 

Thus  speaks  the  pious  Cardinal.  God  grant  that  all 
Religious  may  familiarize  their  minds  with  the  thoughts  he 
suggests  to  them. 

The  Divine  Office  fiUs  up  a  great  part  of  the  day,  as  its 


476        ON  THE  PRINCIPAL  PIOUS  EXERCISES. 

diflferent  portions  have  to  be  recited  separately;  but  there 
is  another  pious  practice,  one  which  is  specially  pleasing 
to  the  Heart  of  Our  Lord,  and  a  favorite  one  with  Religious: 
the  holy  Rosary;  this  is  recited  in  Community  in  most 
monasteries,  and  with  some  modern  Congregations  it  re- 
places the  Office, 

The  Blessed  Virgin  has  her  place  in  the  canonical  Office; 
at  the  commencement  and  the  end  of  the  Hours,  the 
Ave  Maria  awakens  fresh  fervor,  fresh  joy  in  the  hearts 
of  her  children.  Three  times  a  day  the  Angelus  calls  on 
them  to  venerate  her.  Everywhere  in  the  cells,  in  the 
Community-rooms,  in  the  corridors,  and  on  the  stairs, 
statues  and  pictures  of  our  beloved  Queen  recall  her  to 
mind,  or  rather  throw  fresh  fuel  on  a  flame  of  love  that 
never  dies  out.  But  the  chaplet,  or  rather  the  Rosary, 
is  preeminently  the  Psalter  of  Mary. 

Let  us  offer  her  this  sacrifice  of  praise  with  profound 
respect  and  filial  affection.  In  order  to  say  the  Rosary 
with  greater  profit,  we  shall  do  well  to  meditate  on  the 
joyful,  the  sorrowful,  the  glorious  mysteries.  Here  again 
we  meet  with  the  divine  Victim,  offered  to  God  in  the 
joyful  mysteries,  immolated  in  the  sorrowful  mysteries, 
and  in  those  that  recall  His  Resurrection  and  glorious 
Ascension,  we  behold  Him  transformed  and  glorified,  yet 
still  a  Victim.  Thus  each  day  abounds  in  acts  which 
serve  to  confirm  the  Religious  in  his  character  of  a  victim. 

The  weeks,  months,  and  years  have  all  their  own 
special  rehgious  exercises.  The  Sacrament  of  Penance, 
approached  every  week,  is  of  wonderful  assistance,  since 
in  the  sacred  tribunal  the  blood  of  the  divine  Lamb  is 
sprinkled  afresh  on  the  soul  of  the  penitent.  Each  month, 
each  year  brings  retreats  and  anniversaries,  monthly  or 
annual,  and  renewal  of  vows;  all  these  are  such  powerful 
means  of  confirming  the  Religious  who  knows  how  to 
profit  by  them  in  his  self-aacrifice,  that  one  is  tempted  to 


ON  THE  PRINCIPAL  PIOUS  EXERCISES.         477 

ask  one's  self  how  it  is  possible  that  these  privileged  souls 
can  fail  to  attain  to  the  most  intimate,  most  perfect  union 
with  the  adorable  Victim.  They  will  attain  to  that  imion 
before  quitting  this  land  of  exile;  there  remains  one  more 
act  of  a  decisive  nature  which  will  doubtless  accomplish 
that  desired  end.  We  refer  to  the  last  sacrifice  of  the 
religious  life. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

ON  THE  LAST  SACRIFICE  T\TIICH  THE  RELIGIOUS  IS  REQUIRED 
TO   MAKE. 

This  last,  this  final  sacrifice  is  that  of  our  life  in  the 
hour  of  death.  It  is  true  that  this  sacrifice  did,  in  a  certain 
sense,  begin  with  the  first  moment  of  our  existence,  as 
says  St.  Gregory  the  Great:  ''  Our  present  life  is  but  one 
long  death;"  and  perhaps  we  may  attach  a  similar  mean- 
ing to  St.  Paul's  words:  ''I  die  daily"  (I.  Cor.  xv.  31);  but 
this  sacrificial  process,  this  destruction  of  hfe  by  death 
becomes  more  apparent,  more  perceptible  when  the  end 
is  approaching  and  the  sacrifice  is  finally  consummated 
by  the  separation  of  soul  and  body  when  the  last  breath 
is  drawn. 

Death  has  several  aspects;  this  one  is  perhaps  the  truest 
and  most  startling.  In  the  death  on  the  cross  Our  God 
offered  the  sacrifice  of  Himself;  our  death,  accepted  and 
undergone  in  the  same  dispositions  as  His,  will  also  be 
the  crowning  act  of  our  Hfelong  immolation. 

St.  Paul  seems  to  have  regarded  the  end,  the  destruc- 
tion of  this  present  life,  from  the  same  standpoint,  when 
he  wrote  to  Timothy:  "I  am  now  ready  to  be  sacrificed; " 
Ego  enim  jam  delibor;  words  to  which  this  interpretation 
is  given:  "As  for  me,  the  time  of  my  dissolution  is  at  hand, 
and  my  blood  shed  in  martyrdom  will  represent  the  hba- 
tions  poured  over  the  sacrificial  victims  of  the  Old  Testa- 

478 


ON  THE  LAST  SACRIFICE  REQUIRED  479 

ment."  Mgr.  Ginoulhiac,  in  his  commentary  on  the  Epis- 
tles to  Timothy,  has  some  excellent  practical  remarks  on 
this  passage. 

"The  Apostle,"  he  says,  "is  so  certain  that  he  will 
suffer  death,  and  that  shortly,  that  he  already  looks  upon 
himself  as  a  victim  consecrated  by  the  libations  which 
were  preparatory  to  the  sacrifice  of  old.  Martyrdom  is  in 
fact  to  the  eye  of  faith,  a  true  sacrifice;  it  is  a  voluntary 
sacrifice,  although  he  who  offers  it  does  not  himself  deal 
the  fatal  blow;  it  is  a  sacrifice  of  atonement,  in  which 
the  victim,  without  being  entirely  innocent,  is  not  put 
to  death  as  the  penalty  of  guilt,  but  is  purified  by  the 
shedding  of  its  blood." 

The  death  of  the  true  Christian  is  likewise,  though  less 
fully,  a  sacrifice.  It  is  in  evitable,  yet  we  may  make  a  vir- 
tue of  necessity,  and  render  it  a  voluntary  sacrifice  by  our 
willing  acceptance  of  it,  and  our  union  with  the  voluntary 
sacrifice  of  Jesus  Christ.  Each  one  of  us  in  undergoing 
death  fills  up  in  his  person  "  those  things  that  are  wanting 
of  the  sacrifice,"  the  ignominy  and  the  suffering  of  Him 
who  is  our  Head.  And  the  one  oblation  of  Calvary, 
"whereby  He  hath  perfected  forever  them  that  are 
sanctified"  (Heb.  x.  14),  was  offered  so  entirely  for  us 
and  in  our  name,  that  Jesus  Christ  continues  to  offer  it 
and  wUl  offer  it  until  the  end  of  time  in  the  person  of 
each  one  of  His  members  when  their  last  hour  arrives. 
Let  each  one  of  us  therefore  consider  himself  as  branded 
for  sacrifice,  as  a  victim  already  dedicated  by  the  prepara- 
tory libations,  by  "the  sprinkling  of  blood  which  speaketh 
better  than  that  of  Abel"  (Heb.  xii.  24).  And  when  the 
supreme  moment  comes,  let  us  look  to  Jesus  as  the  Sover- 
eign Pontiff  who  is  about  to  perpetuate  and  renew  His 
sacrifice  in  us.  By  thus  uniting  ourselves  to  Him,  by 
entering  submissively,  lovingly  into  His  designs,  by  con- 
senting to  leave  to  Him  the  disposal  of  our  life  and  death 


480  ON  THE  LAST  SACRIFICE  REQUIRED. 

at  His  good  pleasure,  we  shall  partake  in  His  sacerdotal 
character,  and  thus  consummate  the  sacrifice  to  accom- 
plish which  we  were  pledged  in  baptism. 

How  consolatory  is  this  thought!  By  the  secret  and 
adorable  designs  of  divine  mercy,  that  which  is  the  penalty 
our  sins  have  justly  deserved  becomes  a  means  of  expiation, 
an  opportunity  of  meriting!  Thus  the  blow  which  we 
can  not  foresee  or  avert  may  become,  by  our  union  with 
Jesus  Christ,  in  a  certain  sense  a  renewed  oblation,  an 
offering  afresh  of  the  sacrifice  which  "perfects  forever 
them  that  are  sanctified." 

Such  are  the  holy  thoughts,  the  frame  of  mind  inspired 
by  faith  wherewith  the  Religious  sees  death  draw  near. 
Infirmities,  sicknesses  are  multiplied  and  aggravated;  he 
looks  upon  them  as  stern  but  kind  messengers  who  come 
to  warn  him  that  the  final  sacrifice  is  at  hand.  Nature 
may  perhaps  tremble  at  this  announcement,  but  the  soul, 
to  whom  self-surrender  is  no  novelty,  welcomes  the  celes- 
tial message.  Unable  wholly  to  resist  the  influence  of 
frail  and  failing  nature,  she  may  exclaim  with  the  prophet : 
"I  have  heard,  and  my  bowels  were  troubled,  my  lips 
trembled  at  the  voice;  let  rottenness  enter  into  my  bones, 
and  swarm  under  me"  (Hab.  iii.  16).  But  sustained  by 
the  merciful  succor  of  her  divine  Spouse,  assisted  by  the 
charity  of  those  around  her,  victims  like  herself,  encour- 
aged by  the  example  of  those  whose  fortitude  at  their  hour 
of  death  she  has  witnessed,  she  will  say  with  the  great 
Apostle:  "For  which  cause  we  faint  not,  but  though  our 
outward  man  is  corrupted,  yet  the  inward  man  is  renewed 
day  by  day."  And  she  delights  in  adding  the  words  where- 
with this  same  passage  concludes:  "For  that  which  is  at 
present  momentary  and  light  of  our  tribulation  worketh 
for  us  above  measure  exceedingly  an  eternal  weight  of 
glory,  while  we  look  not  at  the  things  which  are  seen, 
but  at  the  things  which  are  not  seen;  for  the  things  which 


ON  THE  LAST  SACRIFICE   REQUIRED,  481 

are  seen  are  temporal,  but  the  things  which  are  not  seen  are 
eternal"  (II.  Cor.  iv.  16-18). 

How  beautiful,  if  viewed  in  the  light  of  faith,  is  the  spec- 
tacle presented  by  the  Religious  who,  after  a  life  of  self- 
surrender  in  the  observance  of  the  Rule  and  the  holy  vowS; 
now  offers  his  last  and  final  sacrifice  in  the  same  spirit! 
If  it  is  after  long  years  spent  in  religion,  years  of  faithful 
correspondence  to  the  grace  of  his  profession,  years  of  un- 
failing acquiescence  in  the  good  pleasure  of  his  divine  Mas- 
ter, the  omnipotent  High-Priest,  the  spectacle  of  his  agony 
and  death  is  so  sublime  as  to  excite  the  rapturous  admira- 
tion of  angels.  And  if  he  ascends  the  altar  of  sacrifice 
while  as  yet  a  neophyte,  after  but  a  year  or  two  of  self- 
immolation  in  his  character  of  victim,  this  is  again  a  scene 
savoring  more  of  heaven  than  of  earth,  awakening  emo- 
tions of  inexpressible  sweetness. 

Moriatur  anima  mea  morte  justorumt  Let  my  soul  die 
the  death  of  the  just,  the  death  of  those  who  are  victims 
of  Our  Lord. 

It  must  not,  however,  be  supposed  that  the  final  sacrifice 
of  the  religious  life  is  invariably  attended  by  an  increase 
of  fervor,  by  sensible  consolations.  Disease  and  physical 
pain  exercise  through  the  mediimi  of  the  senses  so  much 
influence  upon  the  mind  that  they  often  reduce  the  soul 
herself  to  a  state  of  languor  and  impotence.  Even  great 
saints  are  not  exempt  from  this  humiliating  experience. 
But  in  that  case  the  divine  Spouse  imparts  strength  to  our 
weakness. 

Let  us  listen  to  what  Bossuet,  that  great  genius  who  has 
spoken  as  few  others  have  done  of  the  final  sacrifice,  says 
touching  this  mystery  of  divine  compassion: 

^'The  Redeemer  took  upon  Himself  not  the  sins  only 
but  also  the  interests,  the  obligations,  the  duties  of  His 
children,  and  of  those  who  are  His  true  mystic  members. 
Their  last  agony  was  distinctly  present  to  His  inward 


482  ON  THE  LAST  SACRIFICE  REQUIRED. 

vision  whilst  He  hung  on  the  cross;  He  foresaw  by  what 
death  they  should  die;  and  as  He  knew  full  well  how  the 
suffering  caused  by  an  acute  disease  or  sudden  malady 
affects,  together  with  the  senses,  the  noblest  faculties  of 
the  soul  and  renders  them  weak  and  helpless,  who  can 
comprehend  the  vast  extent,  the  force  of  that  charity 
which  led  Him  to  regard  their  agony  as  forming  an  insep- 
arable part  of  His  own?  All  that  He  then  did  was  done  in 
discharge  of  their  debt,  to  supply  what  they  were  unable 
to  do  in  their  last  moments.  He  consecrated  in  His  own 
person  the  suffering  that  the  soul  naturally  feels  when  the 
prospect  of  imminent  and  inevitable  dissolution  presents 
itself  to  her  in  gloomy,  alarming  colors;  He  sanctified  it 
by  His  own  spirit  of  submission  and  penance,  of  sacrifice 
and  homage  to  the  supreme  sovereignty  of  His  Father.  And 
if,  on  account  of  their  reason  being  clouded,  they  are  in- 
capable of  participating  in  His  dispositions,  He  supplies 
their  deficiencies,  offering  for  them  in  the  sight  of  His 
Father  acts  of  charity  and  submission.  Thus  if  they  are 
incapable  of  having  these  sentiments  themselves,  they  have 
them  in  Jesus  Christ ;  and  to  have  them  in  Him  is  equiva- 
lent to  having  them  in  their  own  person,  in  virtue  of  the 
association  between  Him  and  them  which  is  effected  by 
their  union  with  Him.^' 

Such  are  the  grand,  the  encouraging  utterances  of  this 
great  orator.     He  continues: 

''The  devotion  to  the  agony  of  the  Son  of  God  ought 
also  to  strongly  incline  the  soul  to  study  the  last,  most 
weighty  words  which  fell  from  His  lips :  It  is  consummated 
(John  xix.  30).  This  exclamation  may  be  said  to  be  the 
seal  of  the  New  Testament,  of  the  New  Covenant;  but 
without  entering  upon  all  the  meanings  that  may  be 
attached  to  it,  we  will  consider  one  of  a  practical  nature, 
and  most  appropriate  to  our  present  subject. 

*^ln  the  whole  universe  there  is  nothing  greater  than 


ON  THE  LAST  SACRIFICE  REQUIRED.  483 

JesTis  Christ;  and  in  Jesus  Christ  there  is  nothing  greater 
than  His  sacrifice,  and  in  His  sacrifice  there  is  nothing 
greater  than  His  last  breath,  the  moment  which  witnessed 
the  separation  of  His  sacred  soul  from  His  adorable  Heart. 
It  was  at  that  memorable  moment,  fatal  to  hell  but  in- 
finitely precious  for  the  Church,  that  the  Old  Law  beihg 
abolished  and  all  the  promises  of  the  Old  Testament  fulfilled 
(as  they  only  could  be  by  the  consummation  of  the  sacrifice 
of  the  Mediator),  the  ancient  sacrifices  of  irrational  animals 
had  no  longer  any  efficacy;  and  all  the  children  of  the 
promises  following  in  the  Saviour's  steps,  and  receiving 
the  character  of  victims,  it  came  to  pass  that  their  death, 
which  until  then  was  nothing  but  the  just  penalty  of  sin, 
was  changed,  by  virtue  of  Christ's  death,  and  acquired 
the  nature  of  a  sacrifice. 

''AH  is  consummated,  we  hear  Him  cry,  and  the  barriers 
that  impeded  the  exercise  of  My  charity  being  broken 
through,  the  ocean  of  My  love  will  bear  on  its  tide  to  the 
remotest  parts  of  the  universe  the  virtue  of  My  sacrifice. 
All  is  consummated;  the  death  of  My  mystic  members, 
being  united  to  Mine,  will  henceforth  only  be  the  accom- 
plishment of  My  promises  to  them.  My  designs  for  them. 
All  is  consummated;  the  consummation  of  their  life,  in 
their  last  moments,  ought,  in  virtue  of  My  death,  to  be 
qualified  to  become  a  perfect  sacrifice,  an  act  of  homage 
to  the  perfections  of  the  Most  High.  In  this  sense  the 
Apostle  understood  those  words,  when  he  told  the  Hebrews 
that  by  one  oblation  once  offered,  Christ  had  perfected  for- 
ever them  that  are  sanctified;  that  is  to  say,  that  the 
death  of  all  true  Christians,  who  received  the  dedication 
of  a  victim  at  baptism,  has  now  become  a  perfect  sacrifice 
through  the  death  of  Christ,  and  that  His  oblation  and 
theirs  now  form  but  one. 

"This  is  the  goal  to  which  the  grace  of  the  sacraments, 
to  which  all  religion  tends.    Here  the  agony  of  the  Chris- 


484  ON  THE  LAST  SACRIFICE  REQUIRED. 

tian  finds  its  ultimate  end;  the  sacrifice  of  Christ  is  the 
preparation  for  it;  He  is  the  Sovereign  Pontiff;  all  the 
natural  element  is  eliminated  from  it,  we  only  see  in  it 
what  is  supernatural.  And  one  of  the  chief  uses  He  will 
make  of  His  sacerdotal  functions  will  be  to  renew  and 
perpetuate  His  sacrifice  unto  the  end  of  time,  not  only 
in  the  mystery  of  the  Holy  Eucharist,  but  in  the  death  of  all 
His  faithful  followers. 

''It  is  in  this  spirit  that  the  Viaticum  ought  to  be  re- 
ceived. The  great  High-Priest  of  the  New  Law  enters 
into  His  temple,  that  is  to  say,  He  comes  into  the  body 
and  soul  of  the  Christian,  and  there  He  offers  anew  the 
sacrifice  of  Himself,  being  in  the  Sacrament  in  the  con- 
dition of  a  victim,  and  mystically  reenacting  the  destruc- 
tion of  His  natural  life  which  took  place  on  Calvary.  He 
then  exercised  His  office  of  Mediator  with  His  Father, 
pleading  with  Him  on  behalf  of  the  eternal  interests  of 
His  elect,  and  this  He  does  again  in  the  soul  of  the  Chris- 
tian, who,  being  the  altar  whereon  Our  Lord  exercises 
His  sacerdotal  functions,  becomes  like  Him  a  priest  and 
a  victim.  Thus  at  the  last  moment  the  Sovereign  Pontiff 
takes  possession  of  the  victim  by  means  of  the  sacrament 
which  consecrates  the  death  of  that  victim;  He  Himself 
becomes  the  seal  which  stamps  him  as  a  victim,  and  in 
the  exercise  of  His  right  over  a  life  that  belongs  to  Him, 
He  makes  use  of  disease  as  the  sacrificial  knife  wherewith 
to  slay,  to  immolate  the  victim.  Thus  the  Christian,  uniting 
himself  not  only  to  the  adorable  body  of  Jesus  Christ  in 
the  Sacrament,  but  also  to  His  intentions,  His  spirit ;  enter- 
ing into  His  designs  by  submission  and  resignation;  desir- 
ing to  dispose  of  his  being  and  his  life  as  the  great  High- 
Priest  may  choose,  becomes  at  his  death  a  priest  in  union 
with  Him,  and  in  his  last  hours  completes  the  sacrifice  to 
which  he  was  pledged  in  baptism,  and  which  it  was  his 
bounden  duty  to  continue  every  moment  of  his  fife. 


ON  THE  LAST  SACRIFICE  REQUIRED.  485 

"Thus  it  is  that  the  truth  of  the  words:  Consummatum 
est,  is  exemplified  in  the  members,  as  it  is  in  Christ  their 
Head. 

"Extreme  Unction  also  adds  to  the  perfection  of  this 
sacrifice.  The  ancient  usage  of  the  Church  was  to  ad- 
minister it  previous  to  the  Holy  Viaticum  to  those  who 
had  lost  their  baptismal  innocence,  and  for  their  misdeeds 
had  been  sentenced  to  perform  canonical  penance.  For 
although  they  were  supposed  to  be  restored  to  a  state  of 
grace  through  the  sacrament  of  reconciliation,  yet  it  was 
known  that  heinous  sins  generally  leave  their  traces  on 
the  soul,  stains  and  impurities  not  easily  effaced.  Now 
God,  who  is  a  God  of  infinite  purity,  requires  victims  in 
which  there  is  no  spot  or  defect.  This  sacrament  and 
the  grace  it  imparts  was  intended  partly  to  cleanse  the 
victim;  for  this  reason  it  was  administered  before  the 
Holy  Viaticum,  in  order  that  the  High-Priest,  finding  the 
victim  in  a  fit  condition  for  sacrifice,  might  present  it  to 
His  Father  as  a  pure  oblation  before  its  final  immolation 
by  death. 

"Ought  not  the  faithful  (and  preeminently  a  Congre- 
gation of  Religious)  who  are  present  at  the  administration 
of  these  sacraments,  who  witness  the  agony  of  the  depart- 
ing soul,  ought  not  they,  as  well  as  the  priest  who  is  the 
minister  and  representative  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  turn  their 
thoughts  completely  from  all  that  strikes  the  senses,  so 
that  the  idea  of  a  sacrifice  in  which  that  of  the  Saviour  is 
about  to  be  renewed,  a  sacrifice  wherein  they  ought,  each 
one  in  his  measure,  to  share,  may  alone  occupy  their 
minds? 

''May  God  grant  us  grace  to  enter  into  these  truths  and 
remember  them  when  our  last  hour  comes!    Amen." 

Thus  our  death  will  be  the  holy  sacrifice,  the  holocaust  of 
a  sweet  savor  which  imparts  to  the  soul  the  purity  and 
sanctity  necessary  for  taking  part  in  the  eternal  holocaust; 


486  ON  THE  LAST  SACRIFICE  REQUIRED. 

for  this  present  life  is  only  a  preparation  for  that  same 
participation  in  the  eternal  holocaust,  the  holocaust  that 
is  infinite  in  its  perfection,  to  quote  the  language  of  the 
Fathers,  which  consists  of  the  entire  company  of  the 
angels  and  the  elect ;  a  holocaust  whereof  Jesus  Christ  is 
Himself  the  altar  and  at  one  and  the  same  time  both 
the  officiating  Priest  and  the  first  and  greatest  Victim; 
a  holocaust  consumed  by  the  sacred  fire  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  presented  to  the  eternal  Father,  and  accepted  by 
Him  with  infinite  satisfaction  throughout  all  eternity. 


EPILOGUE. 

This  work  was  almost  entirely  composed  at  La  Salette. 
It  has  been,  as  the  reader  will  readily  imagine,  com- 
mended frequently,  very  frequently,  to  Our  Lady  of  La 
Salette,  the  Mother  of  mercy  and  of  fair  love;  and  since 
it  is  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  spot  where  she  ap- 
peared, and  in  a  house  dedicated  to  her,  that  the  writings 
of  the  Fathers  of  the  Church,  of  ascetic  authors,  and  the 
lives  of  the  saints,  which  have  aided  in  the  compilation 
of  this  book,  have  been  consulted  and  studied,  it  may 
be  said  that  to  a  certain  extent  the  work  has  been  done 
in  her  gracious  presence  and  beneath  her  favoring  eye. 

We  say  this  in  no  boasting  spirit  (what  indeed  is  there 
to  boast  of  in  it?),  but  because  many  Rehgious  who  have 
a  special  devotion  to  the  Apparition  of  our  merciful  Mother 
at  this  place  may  be  glad  to  know  the  fact.  There  are 
indeed  thousands  and  thousands,  of  this  we  are  well  aware, 
whose  heart  turns  with  filial  affection  to  this  mystery  of 
love,  and  who  are  interested  in  everything  connected  \\dth  it. 

We  think  it  will  gratify  the  piety  and  filial  devotion  of 
such  persons  if,  at  the  close  of  this  volume,  we  make  it 
apparent  to  them  that  Mary,  in  her  Apparition,  showed 
herself,  in  an  admirable  and  touching  manner,  to  be  the 
pattern  of  all  Rehgious. 

The  announcement  of  this  intention  is  no  doubt  unex- 
pected, and  will  serve  to  excite  their  lawful  curiosity.  We 
will  satisfy  it,  both  for  their  edification  and  for  the  glory 
of  our  kind  and  loving  Mother.     As  the  circiunstances  of 

487 


488  EPILOGUE. 

the  Apparition  are  well  known,  we  shall  not  relate  them 
here. 

The  contents  of  this  work  may  be  summarized  as  follows: 

1.  The  Religious  is,  in  very  truth,  a  victim  offered  to 
God  in  imion  with  Jesus  Christ  in  His  divine  sacrifice. 

2.  In  this  character  he  ought  to  be  devoted  entirely  to 
God,  to  His  interests,  to  His  glory,  and  completely  sacri- 
ficed to  His  good  pleasure. 

3.  In  order  to  accomphsh  this  end,  his  fife  is  a  life 
of  humility,  poverty,  chastity,  mortification,  modesty, 
obedience. 

4.  He  takes  delight  in  entire  seclusion  from  the  world 
and  finds  rest  and  peace  in  solitude  and  silence. 

5.  Finally,  charity,  tender,  strong,  constant,  super- 
natural charity  pervades  and  vivifies  all  that  is  in  him 
and  about  him :  his  mind,  his  heart,  his  words,  his  actions ; 
and  thus  he  attains  to  the  perfection  of  his  state  of  self- 
surrender. 

Such,  in  a  few  words,  is  the  faithful  portraiture  of  the 
Religious. 

Now  in  her  Apparition,  Mary,  in  a  wondrous  manner  that 
appeals  to  the  heart,  shows  herself  as  conunending  for  our 
imitation,  by  her  supernatural  state,  her  words,  her  acts, 
the  virtues  that  constitute  the  perfection  of  the  religious 
state. 

We  will  repeat  what  we  said  just  now  concerning 
those  virtues,  and  see  how  they  are  rendered  desirable 
in  our  sight  by  the  example  of  our  compassionate  Mother 
at  La  Salette. 

1.  The  Religious  is,  in  very  truth,  a  victim  offered  to 
God  in  union  with  Jesus  Christ  in  His  divine  sacrifice. 

Now  Our  Lady  of  La  Salette  shows  herself  most  strik- 
ingly to  be  a  victim  offered  to  God  in  union  with  her 
divine  Son  in  His  sacrifice  of  Himself.  This  point  ought 
to  be  explained  at  length,  for  it  is  of  paramount  importance. 


EPILOGUE.  489 

Since  space  forbids  us  to  do  this,  we  must  refer  the  reader 
to  our  treatise  entitled :  On  Union  with  Our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  in  His  Life  as  a  Victim.  The  23d  chapter  is  entirely 
devoted  to  demonstrating  that  Mary  appeared  in  the 
character  of  a  victim  at  La  Salette,  and  especially  as  a 
victim  of  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus.  Thus  devout  souls, 
versed  in  the  things  of  God,  have  at  all  times  seen  in  the 
Blessed  Virgin's  attitude  of  humility,  of  self-annihilation, 
in  her  tears,  the  prayers  she  unceasingly  offers  to  God  on 
our  behalf;  the  words  whereby  she  urges  us  to  be  converted 
and  expiate  our  sins  by  penance ;  in  the  pains  she  has  taken 
(to  quote  her  own  expression)  to  hold  back  the  avenging 
arm  of  her  Son;  in  all  this  they  see,  in  a  manner  that 
appears  to  them  most  evident,  that  she  is  a  victim  before 
God,  united  to  Jesus,  the  Fount  of  all  atonement,  w^eighed 
down  beneath  the  burden  of  divine  justice,  constituting 
herself,  out  of  love  for  souls,  a  suppliant,  a  mediatrix, 
whose  one  desire  is  to  appease  an  angry  God,  in  order  to 
save  the  souls  who  have  offended  against  Him.  There  is 
no  room  for  doubt  on  this  point;  in  her  Apparition  Mary 
displays  herself  undeniably  in  the  character  of  a  victim, 
and  consequently  as  the  true  model  of  every  good  Religious. 

2.  In  his  character  of  a  victim,  the  Religious  is  entirely 
devoted  to  God,  to  His  interests,  to  His  glory,  and  com- 
pletely sacrificed  to  His  good  pleasure. 

Is  it  not  for  this,  and  this  alone,  that  our  merciful  Mother 
came  down  to  earth?  What  else  engrosses  her  mind,  absorbs 
her  thoughts?  What  is  it  incites  her  to  rouse  tepid  souls 
from  their  indifference,  to  warn  unhappy  sinners  of  the 
chastisements  awaiting  them?  It  is  zeal  for  God's  glory 
that  inspires  her,  an  ardent  desire  to  promote  His  interests. 
His  glory.  Devoted  as  she  herself  is  to  His  good  will 
and  pleasure,  she  would  fain  see  the  souls  of  all  mankind 
equally  devoted  to  that  same  good  pleasure,  that  adorable 
will. 


490  EPILOGUE. 

3.  The  life  of  the  Rehgious  is  a  life  of  humility. 

Who  can  speak  aright  of  the  subHme,  the  touching 
humihty  Our  Lady  exhibited  at  La  Salette?  It  is  one  of 
the  most  notable  characteristics  of  the  Apparition.  In  the 
first  place,  Mary  displays  humility  in  the  language  she 
adopts.  Nothing  is  more  simple  than  the  way  in  which 
she  speaks  to  the  little  shepherds,  the  questions  she  puts 
to  them,  the  instructions  she  gives  them.  She  even 
condescends  to  employ  the  patois  of  that  locality.  Who 
can  fail  to  be  touched  by  such  kind  condescension,  such 
wondrous  humility? 

Mary's  dress  was  also  of  the  humblest  description. 
Doubtless  the  Queen  of  heaven  is  arrayed  in  glorious  apparel 
radiant  in  the  light  of  the  glorified  body,  but  what  could 
be  more  lowly,  more  ordinary  than  the  form  in  which  her 
celestial  splendor  was  veiled?  She  wore,  the  children 
asserted,  the  garb  of  the  humblest  peasant  women,  "with 
an  apron  in  front,"  after  the  manner  of  servants. 

Again,  Mary  displays  her  humility  in  her  choice  of  those 
who  were  to  be  the  privileged  witnesses  of  her  Apparition. 
They  were  young  children,  poor,  ignorant  peasants, 
almost  entirely  destitute  of  the  natural  qualities  which 
render  children  interesting  and  attractive  at  their  age. 
In  the  eyes  of  the  w^orld  they  were  utterly  despicable; 
**the  base  things  of  the  world  and  the  things  that  are  con- 
temptible hath  God  chosen,"  as  St.  Paul  says  (I  Cor. 
i.28). 

Mary  displays  humility  also  in  the  selection  of  the  spot 
where  she  appeared;  for  although  La  Salette  has  become 
a  place  of  renown  since  the  apparition,  it  was  previously 
unkno\\Ti.  What  was  said  formerly  of  Nazareth  was  true 
of  it  in  the  strictest  sense  of  the  words:  "Can  any  good 
thing  come  from  Narazeth?"  The  commentator,  expound- 
ing this  passage,  adds:  Nazareth  was  an  obscure,  insignifi- 
cant village,  which  the  Jews  spoke  of  with  contempt.     It 


EPILOGUE.  491 

was  just  the  same  with  La  Salette.  But  Jesus  chose  to  be 
called  a  Nazarite,  and  Mary  is  not  ashamed  to  be  known  as 
Our  Lady  of  La  Salette. 

The  life  of  the  Rehgious  is  a  life  of  poverty.  Our  Lady 
of  La  Salette  shows  that  she  loves  poverty  dearly.  The 
two  chosen  witnesses  of  her  Apparition  are  poor  children. 
Melanie,  who  was  fourteen  years  old  at  the  time,  had  been 
in  service  since  she  was  six  years  of  age,  to  earn  her  daily 
bread.  Maximin  was  the  child  of  needy  parents.  The 
spot  where  the  heavenly  Visitant  manifested  herself  was 
inhabited  by  the  poorest  class  of  peasants.  She  speaks  to 
them  of  the  crops,  on  which  the  poor  depend  for  their 
sustenance;  she  talks  to  them  in  the  patois  of  the  moun- 
taineers, the  language  of  the  laborers. 

The  life  of  the  Rehgious  is  a  hfe  of  chastity,  of  modesty, 
of  mortification. 

In  her  Apparition  at  La  Salette,  our  blessed  Lady  shows 
herself  preeminently  as  the  Virgin  of  virgins.  Maximin 
never  was  able  even  to  see  her  countenance;  Melanie  only  saw 
it  through  her  tears.  Her  hair  was  entirely  hidden,  and 
her  hands  also  while  she  was  speaking.  Some  devout 
persons  allege  that  her  feet  did  not  touch  the  ground, 
because  it  was  not  fitting  that  the  feet  of  the  purest  of 
Virgins  should  rest  upon  this  miserable  earth,  defiled  as 
it  is  by  so  many  sins. 

The  fife  of  the  Religious  is  a  life  of  obedience.  It  is 
in  this  virtue  more  than  in  any  other  that  the  perfection  of 
his  state  of  self-sacrifice  consists. 

Is  not  this  the  virtue  which  the  Mother  of  mercy  prin- 
cipally enjoined  on  us?  Listen  to  the  first  words  she 
utters,  which  embody  the  substance  of  all  she  said  sub- 
sequently: "If  my  people  will  not  submit,  I  shall  be 
compelled  to  relax  my  grasp  on  the  arm  of  my  Son."  If 
my  people  will  not  submit!  Here  then  is  the  source  of  all 
the  evils  that  afflict  society,   the  family,  and  also — it 


492  EPILOGUE, 

can  not  be  denied — ^religious  Communities;  just  as  obedience, 
the  perfect  submission  of  mind,  of  heart,  of  will,  is,  in 
religious  Houses,  the  source  of  all  that  is  good. 

4.  The  Religious  lives  in  complete  seclusion  from  the 
world,  and  takes  delight  in  silence  and  solitude. 

The  heights  of  La  Salette  are  in  themselves  a  profound 
solitude,  far  removed  from  the  world  and  the  noise  and 
turmoil  of  the  world.  The  tranquillity,  the  silence  that 
prevail  there  are  quite  impressive;  even  on  days  when 
there  is  a  large  concourse  of  people,  the  same  peace,  the 
same  calm  seems  to  rest  on  the  soul.  And  what  is  this 
silence  but  that  of  the  Queen  of  our  affections,  as  she  sits 
weeping,  covering  her  countenance  with  her  hands. 

5.  Finally,  charity,  tender,  strong,  unwavering,  super- 
natural charity  pervades  and  vivifies  his  whole  being; 
his  mind,  his  heart,  his  words,  his  actions. 

Mary,  in  her  Apparition,  is  a  model  of  charity.  What 
a  great  and  glorious  them^  is  this!  We  have  considered  it 
elsewhere;  we  can  not  speak  of  it  here  as  befits  such  a  sub- 
ject. The  appearance  of  our  beloved  Mother  is  a  miracle 
of  charity;  who  can  estimate  aright  the  tender  love  of 
this  maternal  heart!  She  weeps  over  us  because  of  the 
temporal  calamities  which  threaten  us,  and  because  of 
the  eternal  chastisements,  infinitely  more  to  be  dreaded, 
which  will  surely  overtake  us,  unless  we  do  penance. 

What  words  can  describe  her  maternal  devotedness? 
She  prays  for  us  unceasingly;  she  holds  back  the  arm 
of  her  Son,  uplifted  to  strike ;  she  prostrates  herself  before 
Him,  to  obtain  mercy  for  us.  She  complains  of  our 
ingratitude,  she  threatens  us  with  chastisement,  she 
promises  pardon  to  the  penitent. 

How  truly  maternal  is  the  solicitude  of  her  loving  heart ! 
How  earnestly  she  desires  to  avert  the  judgments  of 
heaven  hanging  over  our  heads,  to  draw  down  on  us  celes- 
tial benedictions. 


EPILOGUE,  493 

Observe  also  that  her  charity  is  all-embracing.  The 
poor,  the  young,  the  ignorant,  the  afflicted,  all  who  need 
counsel  and  consolation  find  in  her  a  mother's  love. 

She  is  concerned  on  account  of  the  failure  of  the  crops, 
the  loss  of  which  falls  most  heavily  on  the  poor. 

Appearing  to  two  young  children,  she  constitutes  herself 
to  a  certain  extent  their  teacher;  she  speaks  to  them  of 
the  necessity  of  prayer,  a  matter  whereof  they  are  igno- 
rant, and  instructs  them  in  the  other  duties  of  the  Christian 
in  regard  to  the  commandments  of  God  and  of  the  Church. 

She  bids  the  afflicted  look  upon  the  crucifix  that  she 
wears  and  the  celestial  aureola  that  envelops  her,  in  order 
that  the  sight  of  Our  Lord's  example,  and  the  thought  of 
the  glory  awaiting  us  when  this  exile  is  ended,  may  encour- 
age them  to  suffer  with  greater  resignation  and  hope. 

Finally,  by  showing  herself  to  be  filled  with  solicitude 
and  zeal  for  unhappy  sinners,  who  are  unfortunately  her 
enemies  and  those  of  her  Son,  Mary  teaches  us  to  love  our 
adversaries,  to  pray  for  them  and  do  good  to  them. 

Here  we  must  end.  We  have  only  sketched  in  rough 
outline  this  beautiful  and  affecting  subject.  But  is  not 
every  shade  of  doubt  dispelled  from  the  mind  of  the 
pious  reader?  It  is  undeniable  that  Mary  really  and 
truly  showed  herself,  at  La  Salette,  to  be  the  pattern 
and  example  of  the  Religious. 

The  Apparition  of  the  Mother  of  mercy  took  place  in 
a  little  valley  at  the  simimit  of  the  Alps.  On  the  declivity 
on  the  eastern  side  is  a  narrow  path,  but  little  trod,  lead- 
ing to  the  adjacent  height.  Mary  took  that  path,  though 
her  feet  never  touched  the  ground,  still  weeping,  and 
accompanied  by  the  halo  of  glory  that  shone  around  her. 
On  reaching  the  eminence  she  remained  for  a  few  moments 
raised  above  the  earth  and  then  ascended  to  heaven. 

Thus  the  Religious  considers  himself  to  be  an  exile  upon 
earth  and,  whilst  awaiting  the  hour  of  his  release,  does  the 


494  EPILOGUE. 

work  God  has  given  him  to  do  in  humility,  charity,  and 
the  spirit  of  penance;  meanwhile  he  will  ascend  constantly 
in  spirit  to  heaven,  not  allowing  himself  to  rest  here  below, 
finding  in  God  his  sole  support,  and  surrounding  himself 
with  the  light  of  faith,  with  purity  of  intention,  to  be 
his  unfailing  guide  amid  the  dark  shadows  of  time.  In 
this  manner  he  will  reach  the  end  of  life,  and  will  mount 
up  to  heaven,  where  the  God  who  is  his  first  beginning 
and  final  end  reigns  supreme  for  evermore. 

O  Mary,  Our  Lady  of  La  Salette,  our  loving  Queen, 
our  life,  our  sweetness,  our  hope  in  this  land  of  exile!  I 
now  lay  down  the  pen  which  I  took  up,  as  I  humbly 
trust,  under  the  auspices  of  thy  approval,  in  honor  of  thy 
divine  Son,  and  for  the  good  of  the  souls  whose  happy 
privilege  it  is  to  be  consecrated  to  Him.  In  conclusion, 
I  venture  to  present  this  humble  and  fervent  petition: 
Grant,  O  compassionate  Queen,  that  all  who  read  this 
book  and  he  who  wrote  it,  together  with  the  souls  who 
are  ransomed  by  the  precious  blood  of  thy  divine  Son, 
our  adorable  Victim,  may  one  day  meet  in  thy  presence 
before  thy  throne  in  their  true  and  eternal  country. 
Amen. 


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6 


BACK  TO  THE  WORLD.     Champol. 

BALLADS   OF  CHILDHOOD.     Poems.     Earls,   S.J. 

BARRIER,  THE.     Ren^  Bazin. 

BLACK   BROTHERHOOD,   THE.     Garrold,    S.J. 

BOND  AND  FREE.     Connor. 

"  BUT  THY  LOVE  AND  THY  GRACE."     Finn,  S.J. 

BY  THE  BLUE  RIVER.     Clarke. 

CARROLL  DARE.     Waggaman. 

CHILDREN  OF  EVE.     Clarke. 

CIRCUS-RIDER'S   DAUGHTER.     Brackel. 

CONNOR    D'ARCY'S    STRUGGLES.     Bertholds. 

CORINNE'S  VOW.     Waggaman. 

DAUGHTER   OF  KINGS,   A.     Hinkson. 

DEEP  HEART,  THE.     Clarke. 

DION  AND  THE  SIBYLS.     Keon. 

ELDER  MISS  AINSBOROUGH.     Taggart. 

ELSTONES,  THE.     Clarke. 

EUNICE.     Clarke. 

FABIOLA.     Wiseman. 

FABIOLA'S  SISTERS.     Clarke. 

FATAL  BEACON,  THE.     Brackel. 

FAUSTULA.     Ayscough. 

FINE  CLAY.     Clarke, 

FLOWERS  OF  THE   CLOISTER.     (Poems.)     La  Motte. 

FORGIVE  AND   FORGET.     Lingen. 

GRAPES  OF  THORNS.     Waggaman. 

HEART  OF  A  MAN,  THE.     Maker. 

HEARTS   OF  GOLD.     Edhor. 

HEIRESS    OF   CRONENSTEIN.     Hahn-Hahn. 

HER  BLIND  FOLLY.     Holt. 

HER  FATHER'S  DAUGHTER.     Hinkson. 

HER  FATHER'S  SHARE.     Power. 

HER  JOURNEY'S  END.     Cooke. 

IDOLS;  OR  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  RUE  CHAUSSEE  D'ANTIN 

Navery. 
IN  GOD'S  GOOD  TIME.     Ross. 
IN  THE  DAYS  OF  KING  HAL.     Taggart. 
IN  SPITE  OF  ALL.     SxANrfORTH. 
IVY  HEDGE,  THE.     Egan. 
KIND  HEARTS  AND  CORONETS.     Harrison. 
LIGHT  OF  HIS  COUNTENANCE.     Harte. 
"  LIKE  UNTO  A  MERCHANT."     Gray. 
LINKED  LIVES.  Douglas. 
LITTLE  CARDINAL,  THE.     Parr. 
MARCELLA  GRACE.     Mulholland. 
MARIAE  COROLLA.     (Poems.)       Hill.  C.P. 
MARIE  OF  THE  HOUSE  D'ANTERS.     Earls,  S.J. 
MELCHIOR  OF  BOSTON.     Earls,  S.J. 
MIGHTY  FRIEND,  THE.     L'Ermite. 
MIRROR  OF  SHALOTT.     Benson. 
MISS   ERIN.     Francis. 
MONK'S  PARDON,  THE.     Navery. 
MR,  BILLY  BUTTONS.     Lecky. 
MY  LADY  BEATRICE.     Cooke. 
NOT  A  JUDGMENT.     Keon. 
ONLY  ANNE.     Clarke. 
OTHER  MISS  LISLE,  THE.     Martin. 
OUT  OF  BONDAGE.     Holt. 
OUTLAW  OF  CAMARGUE.     De  Lamothe. 
PASSING  SHADOWS.     Yorke. 
PAT.     Hinkson. 

PERE  MONNIER'S  WARD.     Lecky. 
PILKINGTON   HEIR,  THE.     Sadlier. 
PRISONERS'  YEARS.     Clarke. 
PRODIGAL'S  DAUGHTER,  THE.     BuG€. 
PROPHET'S  WIFE,  THE.     Browne. 
RED  INN  OF  ST.  LYPHAR.     Sadlier. 
REST  HOUSE,  THE.     Clarke. 

ROAD  BEYOND  THE  TOWN,  AND  OTHER  POEMS. 
ROSE  OF  THE  WORLD.     Martin. 


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ROUND  TABLE  OF  AMERICAN   CATHOLIC   NOVELISTS. 
ROUND   TABLE    OF   FRENCH    CATHOLIC    NOVELISTS. 
ROUND   TABLE    OF    GERMAN    CATHOLIC    NOVELISTS. 
ROUND  TABLE   OF   IRISH  AND   ENGLISH  CATHOLIC 

NOVELISTS. 
RUBY  CROSS,  THE.     Wallace. 
RULER  OF  THE  KINGDOM,  THE.     Keon. 
SECRET  CITADEL,  THE.     Clarke. 
SECRET  OF  THE  GREEN  VASE.     Cooke. 
SHADOW  OP  EVERSLEIGH,  THE.     Lansdowne. 
SHIELD  OF  SILENCE,  THE.     Henry-Ruffin. 
SO  AS  BY  FIRE.     Connor. 
SOGGARTH  AROON,  THE.     Guinan. 
SON  OF  SIRO,     Copus,  S.J. 
STORY  OF  CECILIA.     Hinkson. 
STUORE.     (Stories.)     Earls,  S.J. 
TEMPEST  OF  THE  HEART,  THE.     Gray. 
TEST  OF  COURAGE.  THE.     Ross. 
THAT   MAN'S   DAUGHTER.     Ross. 
THEIR  CHOICE.     Skinner. 
THROUGH  THE   DESERT,     Sienkiewicz. 
TIDEWAY,  THE.     Ayscough. 
TRAINING  OF  SILAS.     Devine. 
TRUE  STORY  OF  MASTER  GERARD.     Sadlier. 
TURN  OF  THE  TIDE.     Gray. 
UNBIDDEN  GUEST,  THE.  Cooke. 

UNDER  THE  CEDARS  AND  THE  STARS.     Sheehan. 
UNRAVELLING  OF  A  TANGLE.     Taggart. 
UP  IN  ARDMUIRLAND.     Barrett,  O.S.B. 
VOCATION   OF  EDWARD  CONWAY.     Egan. 
WARGRAVE  TRUST,  THE.     Reid. 
WAR  MOTHERS.     Poems.     Garesch£,   S.J. 
WAY  THAT  LED  BEYOND,  THE.     Harrison. 
WEDDING  BELLS  OF  GLENDALOUGH.     Earls,  SJ. 
WHEN  LOVE  IS  STRONG.     Keon. 
WHOSE  NAME  IS  LEGION.     Clarke. 
WOMAN  OF  FORTUNE.     Reid. 

JUVENILES. 
ADVENTURE  WITH  THE  APACHES.     Ferry. 
ALTHEA.     Nirdlinger. 
AS  GOLD  IN  THE  FURNACE.     Copus. 
AS  TRUE  AS  GOLD.     Mannix. 

AT  THE  FOOT  OF  THE  SAND-HILLS.     Spalding,  S.J. 
BELL  FOUNDRY.     Schaching. 
BERKLEYS,   THE.     Wight. 
BEST    FOOT   FORWARD,   THE.     Finn. 
BETWEEN   FRIENDS.     Aumerle. 
BISTOURI.     Melandri. 

BLISSYLVANIA  POST-OFFICE,  THE.    Taggart. 
BOB-O'LINK.     Waggaman. 
BROWNIE  AND  I.     Aumerle. 
BUNT  AND  BILL.     Mulholland. 
BY  BRANSCOME   RIVER.     Taggart. 
CAMP  BY  COPPER  RIVER.     Spalding. 
CAPTAIN  TED.     Waggaman. 
CAVE  BY  THE  BEECH  FORK.     Spalding. 
CHARLIE  CHITTYWICK.     Bearne. 
CHILDREN  OF  CUPA.     Mannix. 
CHILDREN  OF  THE  LOG  CABIN.     Delamare. 
CLARE  LORAINE.     "  Lee." 
CLAUDE  LIGHTFOOT.     Finn. 
COLLEGE  BOY,  A.     Yorke. 
CUPA  REVISITED.     Mannix. 
CUPID  OF  CAMPION.     Finn. 
DADDY  DAN.     Waggaman. 
DEAR  FRIENDS.     Nirdlinger. 
DIMPLING'S  SUCCESS.     Mulholland. 
ETHELRED   PRESTON.     Finn. 
EVERY-DAY  GIRL,  AN.     Crowley. 


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FACING   DANGER.     Finn,    S.T.  1  05 

FAIRY  OF  THE  SNOWS,  THE.     Finn.  1   05 

FINDING   OF  TONY.   THE.     Waggaman.  1   05 

FIVE  BIRDS  IN  A  NEST.     Delamare.  «-*    0  60 

FLOWER  OF  THE  FLOCK,  THE.     Egan.  '  1  25 

FOR  THE  WHITE  ROSE.     Hinkson.  net    0  50 

FRED'S  LITTLE  DAUGHTER.     Smith.  net    0  50 

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HEIR  OF  DREAMS,  AN.     O'Malley.  net    0  50 

HELD  IN  THE  EVERGLADES.     Spalding,  S.J.  '  1  25 

HIS  FIRST  AND  LAST  APPEARANCE.     Finn.  1  25 

HIS  LUCKIEST  YEAR.     Finn.  1  25 

HOSTAGE  OF  WAR,  A.     Bonesteel.  net    0  50 

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LITTLE  LADY  OF  THE  HALL.     Ryeman.  net,  0  50 

LITTLE  MARSHALLS  AT  THE  LAKE.     Nixon-Roulet.  net,  0  60 

LITTLE  MISSY.     Waggaman.  net,  0  50 

LOYAL  BLUE  AND  ROYAL  SCARLET.     Taggart.  1  25 

LUCKY  BOB.     Finn.  1  25 

MAD  KNIGHT,  THE.     Schaching.  net.  0  50 

MADCAP  SET  AT  ST.  ANNE'S.     Brunowe.  net,  0  50 

MAKING   OF  MORTLAKE.     Copus.  1  25 

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MARKS  OF  THE  BEAR  CLAWS.     Spalding.  1  26 

MARY  TRACY'S  FORTUNE.     Sadlier.  net,  0  50 

MELOR  OF  THE  SILVER  HAND.     Bearne.  1  25 

MILLY  AVELING.     Smith.  net,  0  60 

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MYSTERY  OF  CLEVERLY.     Barton.  net.  0  60 

MYSTERY  OF  HORNBY  HALL.     Sadlier.  net,  0  60 

NAN  NOBODY.     Waggaman.  net,  0  50 

NED  RIEDER.     Wehs.  net,  0  60 

NEW  BOYS  AT  RIDINGDALE.     Bearne.  1  Si5 

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OLD  CHARLMONT'S  SEED-BED.     Smith.  net.  0  50 

OLD  MILL  ON  THE  WITHROSE.     Spalding.  1  25 

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OUR   LADY'S   LUTENIST.     Bearne.  1  25 

PANCHO  AND  PANCHITA.     Mannix.  net,  0  50 

PAULINE  ARCHER.     Sadlier.  net,  0  50 

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in:RIL  OF  DIONYSIO,  THE.     Mannix.  net,  0  50 

PETRONILLA,  AND  OTHER  STORIES.     Donnslly.  net,  0  60 

PICKLE  AND  PEPPER.     Dorsey.  1  25 

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PLAYWATER  PLOT,  THE.     Waggaman.  net.  0  60 

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FOVERINA.     Buckenham.  net,  0  60 

QUEEN'S  PAGE,  THE.     Hinkson.  net,  0  60 

9 


QUEEN'S  PROMISE,  THE.     Waggaman. 

QUEST  OF  MARY  SELWYN.     Clementia. 

RACE  FOR  COPPER  ISLAND.     Spalding. 

RECRUIT  TOMMY  COLLINS.     Bonesteel. 

RIDINGDALE    FLOWER    SHOW.     Bearne. 

ROMANCE  OF  THE  SILVER  SHOON.     Bearnk. 

ST.    CUTHBERT'S.     Copus. 

SANDY   JOE.     Waggaman. 

SEA-GULLS'  ROCK.     Sandeau. 

SEVEN  LITTLE  MARSHALLS.     Nixon-Roulet. 

SHADOWS    LIFTED.     Copus. 

SHEER  PLUCK.     Bearne. 

SHERIFF  OF  THE  BEECH  FORK.     Spalding. 

SHIPMATES.     Waggaman. 

STRONG-ARM  OF  AVALON.     Waggaman. 

SUGAR   CAMP  AND   AFTER.     Spalding. 

SUMMER  AT  WOODVILLE,  A.     Sadlier. 

TALISMAN,  THE.     Sadlier. 

TAMING  OF  POLLY,  THE.     Dorsey. 

THAT  FOOTBALL  GAME.     Finn. 

THAT  OFFICE  BOY.     Finn. 

THREE  LITTLE  GIRLS,  AND  ESPECIALLY  ONE.     Taggart. 

TOLD  IN  THE  TWILIGHT.     Salome. 

TOM    LOSELY:    BOY.     Copus. 

TOM  PLAYFAIR.     Finn. 

TOM'S  LUCK-POT.     Waggaman. 

TOORALLADDY.     By  Julia  C.  Walsh. 

TRANSPLANTING  OF  TESSIE.     Waggaman. 

TREASURE   OF   NUGGET   MOUNTAIN.     Taggart. 

TWO  LITTLE  GIRLS.     Mack. 

UNCLE   FRANK'S   MARY.     Clementia. 

UPS  AND  DOWNS  OF  MARJORIE.     Waggaman. 

VIOLIN  MAKER,  THE.     Adapted  by  Sara  Trainer  Smith. 

WAYWARD    WINIFRED.     Sadlier. 

WINNETOU,  THE  APACHE  KNIGHT.     Taggart. 

WITCH    OF    RIDINGDALE.     Bearne. 

YOUNG  COLOR  GUARD.     Bonesteel. 


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